Yes, a protester was clubbed in the head by the police in Rouen

• With a bloody face, a man stands against a window while the person who films him exclaims "Look, the French police, live!" "
• The sequence went viral on Twitter: it would show, according to his legend, a man injured by police during the day of mobilization on January 9 against the pension reform.
• 20 Minutes was able to confirm, thanks to the images of the demonstration in Rouen and various testimonies, that the man named Denis had indeed received batons on the head.

Leaning against a window, his face bloody, a middle-aged man holds his ear while the man filming the scene exclaims: "Damn, French police! Look, the French police, live! "

"Shameful and Lamentable [...] A few moments ago in Rouen on this strike day of January 9, look at what the police have done," says the legend of this video viewed more than 95,000 times since it was put online. on Twitter this Thursday in the early afternoon.

📽 Shameful and Lamentable a few times ago in #Rouen this day of # greve9janvier look what she did the police 😖 # retreats # Legeneral #Macron #France pic.twitter.com/4hvkWYVJUu

Several Internet users wonder, however, in comment, about the origin of his injuries, the sequence in no way attributing them to the police.

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The man in question, named Denis, was present in the mobilization organized in Rouen (Seine-Maritime) this Thursday to protest against the pension reform, as confirmed by several witnesses contacted by 20 Minutes . We also see it in several other videos filmed on this occasion, notably in this sequence filmed by Amandine Pointel, journalist for France 3 Normandy, where we can clearly see her green parka among the demonstrators facing the front lines of the forces of the 'order.

#ReformeRetraites First tensions between police and demonstrators in #Rouen pic.twitter.com/eZPC1RUIia

We also find him on a video filmed from another angle by Simon Louvet, journalist of Actu.fr present in the procession: at 0'15 '', Denis seems tossed about by the movement of crowds of protesters shouting "Get out!" Behind him and by pushing in the opposite direction the police erected in a cordon at the entrance to a street.

Bewildering scene: the police intervened without reason to cut the procession in half in the middle, at the level of the group from #GiletsJaunes to #Rouen. In trouble, the police gassed the protesters and clubbed them. A 61-year-old man with a head injury. # greve9janvier pic.twitter.com/U5JFgVajGS

“It happened on rue Jeanne d'Arc, at the crossroads with rue du Gros-Horloge when we were in the middle of the procession. The police blocked access to rue du Gros-Horloge, which is the main pedestrian street in Rouen, with a lot of shops, ”explains Amandine Pointel.

Simon Louvet explains for us the course of events: "At the beginning, I was below, 150 meters from the intersection between rue Jeanne d'Arc and rue du Gros-Horloge, filming the middle of the procession . When a group of "yellow vests", very recognizable, arrived at this height, police disembarked from the rue du Gros-Horloge to cut the procession in half. "

The scene is visible on one of the videos posted on Twitter by the journalist: part of the police remains on the cordon in front of the entrance to rue du Gros-Horloge while some of their colleagues, within of the procession, seem to be looking for someone.

PS: just before gas and batons on the procession # greve9janvier. The cordon of police officers melted on the group of #GiletsJaunes and their banner announcing the national call to #Paris on Saturday January 18. #Rouen pic.twitter.com/gTlaCkWSRt

Filmed baton blows

"Their leader gave the order to go and arrest a man who was tagging a wall, so they crossed the crowd, which caused tension and hoots among the demonstrators. I do not know if their intention was to cut the procession in two but that is what happened ", confirms" OCN - Eye of Norman citizens ", a local Facebook page" linked to the movement of "yellow vests" Who filmed his own images.

A version confirmed at France 3 Normandy by the Departmental Directorate of Public Security, which evokes the arrest of "an individual with a hidden face who had committed degradations during the course of the demonstration" and by police sources at Actu 76. Contacted by 20 Minutes on this subject, the Information and Communication Service of the National Police (Sicop) had not been able to answer us before the article appeared.

“The people in the front row [of the cordon in front of rue du Grand-Horloge] started to push them lightly, small projectiles flew towards the police and they took out their soft drinks. This is where they began to use them and then repel them with batons, ”continues Simon Louvet. At 0'25 '' on his first video, Denis thus repelled the police before deviating to the left and then coming back to them at 0'34 ''. He is talking to them, both hands outstretched, when the tear gas thrown into the street forces Simon Louvet and the rest of the procession to back off.

At 1'25 '', as he emerges from the cloud of smoke while retracing his steps, the videographer crosses a "yellow vest" shouting "Medic! Next to Denis, who leans on a pole, his face bloodied and hanging above a trash can. If the police baton shot is not visible on this sequence, they are visible at 0'39 '' on the video of "Eye of Norman citizens".

"I clearly saw Denis receiving the baton blow"

"I clearly saw Denis receiving the baton blow," confirms the videographer who filmed the scene. Simon Louvet adds: "When I met Denis, his face bloody, extracting myself from the smoke, he was brought to a store on rue Grand-Horloge where he was taken care of by street medics , who said he needed stitches. Then I called the fire department. "

"He is not the only one to have been hit with a baton, another protester, Philippe, took several on the head as we can see on my video when he is the type to speak strongly with the police but not to throw paving stones. Denis, whom we often meet in processions, is like him, ”concludes the journalist from Actu.fr.

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• Injury
• Pension reform
• Demonstration
• Rouen
• Police violence
• Fake Off