France probes ‘yellow vest’ protests after elderly woman hurt

NICE: French officials faced fresh questions about the handling of the “yellow vest” protests after an elderly activist was seriously injured during a police charge in the southern city of Nice.

Prosecutors there have opened an inquiry to establish what happened on Saturday when Genevieve Legay, 73, suffered head injuries.

When paramedics evacuated veteran activist Legay from the demonstration, she was bleeding from the head but still conscious, AFP journalists at the scene noted.

Her daughter later said she had suffered several fractures to the skull and subdural haematomas.

Arie Alimi, the family’s lawyer, filed a formal complaint against the authorities for violence against “a vulnerable person” and the region’s governor was named in the lawsuit, which was submitted yesterday.

“The police charge was very violent,” he said. “Mrs Legay ... has been very badly injured.”

But contrary to some reports, she was in stable condition and not in a coma, he added.

Photos and video footage from Saturday’s protest showed her carrying a rainbow-coloured flag with the word “peace” written on it.

Legay is an activist with the social justice campaign group Attac, which called for an inquiry to establish who had caused her injuries.

In an interview with Nice-Matin yesterday, President Emmanuel Macron wished her “a speedy recovery, and perhaps some form of wisdom”.

“When you are frail and may be pushed around, you do not go to places that are defined as prohibited and do not put yourself in situations like this,” he said.

Local prosecutors and France’s justice minister Nicole Belloubet noted that protests in some parts of the city centre had been banned.

Belloubet was asked about the incident by French channel BFMTV.

While wishing Legay a speedy recovery, she said, “I do find it curious all the same that when a demonstration had been banned, as was the case in Nice, someone goes with the declared intention of demonstrating there.” — AFP