The images of his arrest had aroused strong reactions. Tuesday, June 16, 2020, hundreds of thousands of nursing staff met on the Esplanade des Invalides in Paris. An event which ended in tear gas and clashes with the police. Indeed, a few hours after the start of the event, Internet users were offended by the images of the arrest of Farida, a 51-year-old nurse, mother of two, mastered by several CRS on the fringes of the procession.
On the images broadcast on social networks, we can see five law enforcement officers immobilizing the demonstrator near a tree by pinning her to the ground by her hair. On these same videos, we hear the nurse calling for her "ventoline" emphatically, explaining that she has asthma. However, Farida C. will still end up in police custody for "intentional violence with a weapon by destination on a person holding public authority". And for good reason, it was seen a few seconds earlier launching projectiles on the CRS. Heard by a judicial police officer on Wednesday June 17, Farida C. tried to justify her gesture.
Farida admits to having "cracked" and not recognizing herself on the videos
Faced with the police, Farida explained that she had received tear gas a few minutes earlier but recognized jets of "small pebbles or stones". As explained Point, the mother said she had not injured anyone and had no intention of harming. According to her, her gesture was the witness of a great anger which in no way targeted the police. However, on the images broadcast in a loop, Farida appeared making fingers of honor only a few meters from the CRS: "I broke down", she recognized, adding that she did not recognize herself on the videos in question.
Farida also said that she was injured during her arrest, describing bruises on her arms, a forehead and scalp injury. She explains that she felt a knee on her neck before suddenly hearing a police officer say to one of her colleagues: "Go slowly." His lawyer, Julien Brault, spoke of the deplorable working conditions of Farida, after "three months of hell" and working days of up to 14 hours. During the coronavirus health crisis, the nurse had 36 patients in charge, 20 of whom died before her eyes.
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