PSG victory: a 13-year-old loses an eye, police methods called into question
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On the night of 30 to 31 May 2026, on the sidelines of celebrations of PSG’s Champions League title, the police deployed to “secure” the gatherings have been accused of violence and intimidation. Several people were seriously injured, including two teenagers hit in the head by what appear to have been rubber projectiles fired from LBD 40 launchers.
The 13-year-old boy who lost an eye in Bobigny. Source: social media.
On the evening of the Champions League final, in Bobigny, a 13-year-old boy lost an eye after being struck in the face by a projectile. According to the mayor of La Courneuve, Aly Diouara – who made the case public on 1 June and referred it to the prosecutor – the boy was reportedly hit by an LBD shot fired from a police vehicle. The same night, in Fontenay-sous-Bois, Le Parisien reports that a 14-year-old was seriously injured in the head by an LBD shot, with probable lasting damage to his eyesight according to his family, who intend to file a complaint. In both cases, the relevant prosecutor’s office is reported to have referred the matter to the IGPN, the police’s internal affairs body.
Mediapart, which gathered several testimonies, reports at least one other person seriously injured in the eye during an operation in western Paris, as well as numerous beatings, tear-gassings, and charges against gatherings. Journalists were also targeted, including a 21-year-old freelance reporter, Enzo Rabouy, who was struck in the head while filming despite his clearly visible “Press” armband; he has referred the matter to the IGPN and intends to file a complaint. Numerous videos of acts of police brutality over the course of that night circulated on social media.
The issue was raised during questions to the government in the National Assembly on 2 June, with several MPs denouncing a public order policing doctrine based on confrontation and aimed in particular at young people from working-class neighbourhoods. The Paris police prefecture, for its part, defended the actions of its officers. As for the overall toll, the Interior Ministry reported some 890 arrests nationwide, a 45% increase on last year – the 2025 final having also been won by PSG.
According to Libération, the Paris prosecutor’s office reported twenty-seven fast-track trials since Monday, including six acquittals, with sentences ranging from a four-month suspended sentence to fourteen months in prison, none of it suspended. The latter was handed down to an off-duty police officer: tried on 2 June and immediately jailed, the 24-year-old officer, who was intoxicated, had pointed his weapon at motorists celebrating the victory, insulting them and threatening to shoot them.