October 31 Demonstration: How Are Police Tracking the Molotov Cocktail Attackers Who Burned a Gendarme?

The scene, striking in its violence, was captured from every angle. On Saturday, during protests in Paris that brought together 70,000 people according to authorities, a homemade explosive device detonated at the feet of a mobile gendarmerie captain deployed at Porte de Charenton. In the videos circulating on loop across social networks, the officer's leg can be seen catching fire immediately after the Molotov cocktail was thrown. Two of his colleagues rushed toward him in an effort to smother the flames, aided by a man wearing a white T-shirt and a straw hat.

"We may have narrowly averted catastrophe," the injured captain told BFMTV. Facing a barrage of projectiles hurled by a determined group, he admitted he did not see the device coming. "No one can really identify precisely where each projectile is coming from." The officer simply remembers the pain. "The burning sensation is immediate, intense," he recounted. "You have time to feel that the gear is beginning to be compromised and that the flesh is beginning to sting, if not burn."

Fortunately, the serviceman was only lightly injured. He was granted a ten-day total temporary disability leave (ITT) and returned to duty in Dreux (Eure-et-Loir) after his hospitalization. As early as Saturday, the Minister of the Interior denounced an "attempted murder." "We will do everything possible to find the perpetrators," Laurent Nuñez promised. On Sunday, the Paris public prosecutor's office launched an investigation into "attempted homicide of persons holding public authority," entrusted to the Paris Territorial Security (Sûreté territoriale de Paris).

The "Meticulous Work" of Video Surveillance

How, however, can a suspect with a concealed face who melted into a hostile crowd be found? The investigation relies first and foremost on reviewing footage filmed by witnesses. The Paris prosecutor's office confirmed that "videos and photographs circulating on social networks are currently being analyzed." This initial screening has already yielded results. "At this stage, three individuals dressed in black, consistent with black bloc attire, have been isolated as potential perpetrators."

No suspects have been arrested so far, but the manhunt has only just begun. "CCTV cameras will help us," assured Rudy Manna, national delegate for the Unsa Police union. "We can retrace the path taken by the suspect. It is painstaking, meticulous work." The challenge for the Sûreté territoriale is to track these three individuals before, during, and after the attack, hoping to capture the moment they change clothes, remove their masks on an adjacent street, get into a car, board a train, or return home.

DNA and Human Intelligence

Beyond analyzing video footage, investigators are relying on forensic police techniques. The objective? To isolate "DNA on the cocktail, on the fragments they collected," explained Rudy Manna. A genetic trace left on a piece of glass or on the wick could prove decisive if it matches a profile already logged in a police database.

Investigators are also counting on human intelligence, knowing that tongues often loosen over time. "Often in cases like this, some people are uneasy about a cop being attacked. Not everyone approves of that kind of action," the union representative analyzed. "There may be tip-offs. Because if suspects are arrested, some might talk. They don't want to go to prison for something they didn't do, especially for attempted murder." Added to this is the expertise of the intelligence services, "who are at work and possess deep knowledge of the phenomenon" of the ultra-left and black blocs.

For police officers, a line was crossed with this attack. "This cannot continue; we are reaching unprecedented levels of violence. They acted with intent to kill," Rudy Manna warned. "They must be severely punished. A strong message must be sent. Because this is going to end with a fatality. We didn't miss it by much. It's a miracle he was barely hurt."