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Antoine, a 26-year-old who volunteers as a "street medic" to provide first aid to injured protesters, spoke to the FRANCE 24 Observers about the incident after videos showing officers striking him, knocking him to the ground and dragging his apparently unconscious body circulated widely online.
In the footage from Saturday 17th October, Antoine appears to lose consciousness after officers strike him with batons. Some versions of the video were later shared with claims that he had been “assassinated by police” or “beaten to death”.
Antoine said he had stepped in front of a water cannon to identify himself as a medic, before being struck on the head with a baton: "I stepped in front of it to show I was harmless - I had “medic” written on an armband on my side.What I do remember is getting hit in the head from behind. I was half-unconscious, then something hit me in the back."
He regained consciousness in a fire engine, where emergency responders carried out a concussion test. Antoine said he continued to suffer severe headaches, planned to return to hospital for further examinations and intended to file a complaint. He also said his injuries had left him unable to work.
The false claims appear to have been fuelled by confusion surrounding a separate death in Paris on the same day.
French media and Paris police headquarters confirmed that a man had died from cardiac...
To display this content from YouTube, you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement. 2 min Antoine, a 26-year-old who volunteers as a "street medic" to provide first aid to injur...