Patrick Zachmann was at Trocadero square and on the Champs-Elysées in Paris on the evening of October 20th where police officers from Paris and suburbs gathered to protest for the third night in a row. These unauthorized rallies were provoked by the attack on October 8th, of a police patrol car by a group of 15 robbers known to target motorists at a traffic junction in Viry-Chatillon, outside of Paris. Two policemen were seriously injured and another officer has been in a life-threatening condition a day after the attackers pelted petrol bombs at his patrol car. The 28-year-old male officer suffered serious burns and is progressively coming out of an induced coma. His female partner was also badly burned on her hands and face. Two other officers who arrived as back-up were also injured. Thousands of French police officers have held this rare protest in Paris but also across the country over what they say are a lack of resources and a judiciary that is too lenient towards criminals. It is the first significant police protest in France in three decades. In response, the government has pledged a series of reforms, including tougher sentences for violent criminals, stiffer sentences for people in possession of weapons and plans to simplify criminal procedures.

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