Paris prosecutors opened an investigation Monday after a young woman was assaulted by a street harasser after telling him to stop – in full view of a terrace full of people and CCTV cameras in Paris's 19th arrondissement (district). Advertising Read more The Paris public prosecutor's office opened an investigation Monday after a young woman lodged a complaint against a man who harassed her in the street and then followed her, hitting her in the face after she told him to stop making obscene remarks. The victim obtained a CCTV video of the incident that has since gone viral on social media. The investigation involves sexual harassment and violence with a weapon since he also threw an ashtray at the victim, resulting in an injury that will cause her to miss some work, French media reported. Marie Laguerre, 22, posted footage of the incident on her Facebook page, describing how the man launched a series of "humiliating" comments coupled with whistles and explicit language as she was on her way home in northeastern Paris. Woman harassed then assaulted on a Paris street "So I let out a, "Shut up!" while making my way," she wrote. "Because I do not tolerate this type of behaviour. I cannot keep silent and we must not be silent." But "this man didn't like that", she continued, explaining that he first threw an ashtray at her before following her and then "hitting her in the face in the street, in broad daylight, in front of dozens of witnesses". Her Facebook post was accompanied by the video surveillance from the bar in front of which the incident took place. The video has so far been retweeted hundreds of times and the public video on Facebook has received hundreds of comments. She also tweeted about the incident, saying she was attacked only because she responded to this man's provocation. "Unacceptable. Stop street harassment," she wrote. Parce que j'ai répondu à son harcèlement, un homme m'a frappée en pleine rue, en pleine journée, devant des dizaines de témoins. Inadmissible. Stop au harcèlement de rue. #noustoutes #metoo #balancetonporc #harcelementderue @MarleneSchiappa https://t.co/lV9AIKndlX Marie Laguerre (@may_lgr) July 28, 2018 The French government announced in March that sexual harassment on French streets or in public transport would soon be punishable by an on-the-spot fine of €90. In announcing the measure, a government spokesman cited a 2016 survey that found 87 percent of women who use public transport had experienced harassment such as wolf whistles or comments on their appearance, intrusive staring or someone pressing up against them. Only 2 percent of these women went so far as to file a police complaint, although in more than 85 percent of cases at least one witness was present. Screen grab from Facebook page of Marie Laguerre Daily newsletterReceive essential international news every morning Subscribe<doc-sep>The man punches the woman after she raised her voice against harassment. (Representational) Paris prosecutors have opened an inquiry after a young woman posted a shocking video of a man punching her in broad daylight outside a cafe after she angrily responded to his sexual harassment, legal sources said Monday. Marie Laguerre, a 22-year-old student, wrote on Facebook last week that she was returning home when the man started making lewd comments - "not the first time it had happened to me that day". She told him to "shut up" and kept walking away, while the man went in the opposite direction. In surveillance video provided by the cafe, the man is then seen grabbing an ash tray from a table on the cafe's patio and throwing it at her. He then returns where Laguerre confronts him, and strikes her across the face. Laguerre filed a complaint with police and later posted the video, writing that "we must no longer keep quiet". "Filmed Proof," the Parisien newspaper wrote in its front-page headline on Monday after the video went viral in a Twitter post on Saturday. "What's at stake is serious -it's the freedom of women to move about in freedom in public," France's Equality Minister Marlene Schiappa said in an interview with the paper. She said the government is preparing to push through this autumn a law that will punish sexual harassment in public spaces with on-the-spot fines, part of President Emmanuel Macron's pledge to combat sexism. The law covers behaviour including comments on a woman's looks or clothing, catcalling, intrusive questions, unwanted following and "upskirting" -- taking pictures under a woman's dress without her knowing. Schiappa also urged witnesses at the cafe - many of whom are seen confronting the man after he punches Laguerre -to help police identify him.<doc-sep>A young woman who was harassed, insulted and hit by a a man in a Paris street has become the symbol of the struggle against sexism in France. Marie Laguerre, a student aged 22, has won widespread support after revealing that she was attacked because she refused to remain silent in the face of lewd and insulting behaviour. Sponsored Marie Laguerre shared CCTV footage of the attack and later said: “I took the blow with pride.” Since sharing online CCTV footage of the incident, which has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times, Ms Laguerre has become an icon to feminists, who say that women are regularly subjected to the sort of behaviour she had to confront. The incident occurred last Tuesday when a man began to behave in a lewd manner towards her as she walked past a bar on her way<doc-sep>A young Frenchwoman today called for a clampdown on sexual harassment after being assaulted by a man in broad daylight outside a packed Paris cafe. The horrifying attack on Marie Laguerre, 22, was captured on video and has caused national anger and soul searching. It shows the student strolling home in the early evening before an unidentified bearded white man 'made dirty noises, commented and whistled'. Marie shouts 'Shut up!' back, later admitting, 'I didn't even think he had even heard me'. The man then grabbed an ashtray from a café table and threw it at an increasingly irritated Marie, who shouted more insults. 'I felt hatred,' Marie told Le Parisien. 'I refused to be demeaned, it was humiliating. I refused to look down, I looked him right in the eyes, I was not going to apologise.' It was then that the man slapped her around the face, leaving her with swelling around the cheek bones. 'I was in pain, but it happened in a few seconds so I did not realise it right away,' said Marie. One of the most disturbing aspects of the video, which has gone viral in France, is that people sitting in the café do very little except for stand up and look shocked. Some men, including one who looks like a waiter, grab chairs but nothing is done to keep the assailant away from Marie. Despite this, Marie said: 'To all those who say that the witnesses did not react well enough – everything happened very quickly and they did not have time to understand the situation. 'The attacker was dangerous. After the attack, I came back and the witnesses were very supportive, please don't lynch them.' The attack took place last Tuesday, and has triggered a national debate about the way women are treated on the streets of France. 'I feel my adrenaline and stress levels rise when I'm in the street,' said Marie, following the attack in the northern 19th arrondissement, close to the Buttes-Chaumont Park, at around 6.45pm. 'The problem is the systematic insecurity that women suffer as a result of men. Some men think that the street belongs to them and that we have no business being there.' Marie wrote on her Facebook page: 'This is not the only incident. Harassment is everyday. To those men who think anything goes in the street, who allow themselves to humiliate us and who can not stand being offended, it is unacceptable. 'It is time for this kind of behavior to STOP. #AllWomenTogether.' Prosecutors have launched an inquiry into 'violence and sexual harassment,' as police try and find the attacker. French Equalities Minister Marlene Schiappa added her voice to those supporting Marie, saying she was 'outraged but unfortunately not surprised' by what had happened. Pointing to new legislation that will see sexist men fined, Ms Schiappa said: 'The political response must be strong.' A new government bill will outlaw 'annoying, following, and threatening a woman,' and the first fines are likely to be introduced this autumn. This article has been adapted from its original source.<doc-sep>
French prosecutors are investigating after a video went viral, showing a young woman being assaulted for confronting a man she accuses of sexual harassment, local media reported on Monday. Security camera footage shows 22-year-old student Marie Laguerre walking outside a Paris cafe in broad daylight. In a Facebook post, she said a man made lewd comments towards her — "not the first time it had happened to me that day." She said she told him to "shut up" before walking away. Footage provided by a cafe then shows the man grabbing an ashtray from the crowded cafe patio and throwing it at her. He then doubles back towards her. When Laguerre confronts him he strikes her across the face. Laguerre filed a complaint with police and later shared the video on social media, writing: "Because I responded to his harassment, a man hit me in the street, in the middle of the day, in front of dozens of witnesses. Unacceptable. Stop street harassment." The video was widely shared and it was picked up the Le Parisien newspaper on Monday with the front-page headline "Filmed proof." "What's at stake is serious: It's the freedom of women to move about in freedom in public," France's equality minister, Marlene Schiappa, told the paper. She said the government was hoping to push through a law later this year to punish sexual harassment in public spaces with on-the-spot fines, part of President Emmanuel Macron's pledge to combat sexism. Each evening at 1830 UTC, DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here.