French police officers suffered serious injuries when a feral mob attacked them as they attempted to arrest a suspected jewelry thief from Algeria this week, according to reports.
The shocking incident unfolded at around 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday in the culturally-enriched city of Lyon.
Plainclothes cops from the interdepartmental public transport security service (SISTC) were pursuing a man in La Guillotière district who had allegedly ripped a necklace off a passerby when a crowd surrounded them, Actu17 reports.
As officers tried to arrest the suspect, dozens of assailants began kicking them, throwing rocks and bottles, hitting them with sticks, and even spraying tear gas.
Footage of the melee was shared on social media.
L'homme que les policiers tentaient d'interpeller est un clandestin algérien de 18 ans, connu de la police pour 18 faits de délinquance et interdit de territoire en France. Une foule s'est massée pour les lyncher. https://t.co/sExBn7TZO4 pic.twitter.com/fgBZDORIQv
— Fdesouche.com est une revue de presse (@F_Desouche) July 21, 2022
The cops attempted to pull the suspect into a store but eventually he broke free and escaped.
The suspect is known to authorities and has been identified as an illegal alien from the African nation of Algeria, according to Matthieu Valet, spokesman for the Independent Union of Police Commissioners.
Jusqu’où vont-ils aller?
— Matthieu Valet (@mvalet_officiel) July 21, 2022
Hier à #Lyon, des #policiers ont été lynchés et fracassés par une foule de voyous.
Ils ont libéré l’auteur présumé d’un vol à l’arraché de chaîne.
Cet Algérien, connu de la #Police, était interdit de territoire🇫🇷!
Blessée, la policière a eu 7 jours d’ITT! pic.twitter.com/Bn7XIuKLrY
“Yesterday in Lyon, police officers were lynched and smashed by a crowd of thugs,” Valet wrote on social media on Thursday.
“They released the alleged perpetrator of a chain snatching. This Algerian, known to the police, was inadmissible!”
The latest mob assault on police comes amid a heated debate over violent crime and lawlessness tied to mass migration in France.
Military leaders fired off multiple incendiary letters last year, warning the Macron government of looming "civil war" if strong measures are not taken to regain control of a society spiraling into chaos.
The revolution will not be televised.
(PHOTO: Screenshots / Twitter)