French police fired tear gas on Thursday at youths who hurled projectiles and vandalized property on the fringes of a student demonstration against the alleged rape of a young black man by police using a baton.
Hundreds of high-school students blocked the entrances to more than a dozen schools in Paris during the unauthorized rally which was largely peaceful aside from the isolated skirmishes. Police made 26 arrests, reports Reuters.
The protest comes two months before a presidential election in which opinion polls show far-right leader Marine Le Pen performing strongly on an anti-immigration, nationalist platform.
It was the latest in a series of demonstrations against the alleged police mistreatment of a 22-year-old man identified only as Theo, who remains in hospital with injuries to his anus and head.
One banner at Thursday’s rally read “Revenge for Theo!”
