A Chechen migrant was arrested in the commune of Montereau-Fault-Yonne after dragging a police officer 60 feet with his vehicle while trying to escape a Wuhan coronavirus lockdown checkpoint.
The 30-year-old Chechen national was intercepted by police in the Montereau industrial area and asked for his ID and driving licence after being pulled over by officers. The man was unable to produce either document and was told by a policeman leaning through his window he would be going to the police station.
Instead, the Chechen turned his ignition key and accelerated, with the police officer being dragged along for sixty-five feet and another officer on the scene narrowly missing being hit, Le Parisien reports.
After hitting a mound of earth, the Chechen migrant attempted to escape on foot and entered a disused warehouse in the industrial area. Officers called for reinforcements who encircled the warehouse and eventually arrested the 30-year-old.
Following his arrest, the Chechen claimed he did not live in the area and was visiting family members. He is now under investigation for violence against a police officer, driving without a license along, and several other charges. He is not expected to be tried until January of next year, however.
The incident is just the latest act of anti-police violence during the Wuhan coronavirus lockdown in France.
A report released by newspaper Le Figaro this week claimed that between March 17th and May 5th, there have been at least 379 attacks on police, including 79 ambushes — an average of seven attacks per evening through the coronavirus lockdown.
Certain no-go areas across the country have been the main locations for anti-police attacks, such as the department of Yvelines, where police claimed to have been attacked nearly every night over a two-week period.
Most recently the neighbourhood of Monnaie in the commune of Romans-sur-Isère saw at least three nights of rioting and attacks against police.