The soldier was not on duty at the time of the incident. And there is currently nothing to link his aggression to his profession. But on Sunday, at around 5 a.m., this 24-year-old man who works on Operation Sentinel, which involves guarding sensitive points throughout France, leaves the Rue Saint-Denis in Paris (1st), a night establishment where he came with his friends to have a good time at the club.
Once on the pavement, he then talks to a man. Shortly after, after hearing screams, a passing police squad finds him lying on the pavement with a bleeding wound on his head. Unconscious at the time of treatment by Samu, the corporal was rushed to the Beaujon hospital in Clichy (Hauts-de-Seine) in absolute emergency, with a life-threatening prognosis.
Open investigation into deliberate violence
“The investigation into the intentional violence was assigned to the 1st judicial police district,” says the Paris prosecutor’s office. “The victim’s vital prognosis, once mentioned, is no longer in danger.”
The soldier did not want to file a complaint, but police were able to establish based on testimony and video surveillance that the two men were talking calmly before they both stood at attention like two boxers. The attacker then struck the victim hard in the face, causing him to fall immediately and his body to hit the ground with a thud. Investigations are ongoing to identify the suspect.