A Chinese company manager has filed a complaint against police officers who intervened in her premises in the context of a commercial dispute, a source close to the case confirmed by the plaintiff’s lawyer, Yassine Bouzrou, said on Saturday, 27 January. The complaint, viewed by Agence France-Presse (AFP), was filed with the Paris public prosecutor’s office for aggravated voluntary violence, infringement of individual liberties, and discrimination by a person who holds public authority. On January 22, the plaintiff was with clients at her company for assistance, concierge, translation, among others, when four police officers from the 7th arrondissement police station arrived. They had been called by the manager of another company to whom she sublets her premises and with whom the relations have “deteriorated” since September 2023, the complaint stated. The four police officers “seemed to discriminate against” the plaintiff, “telling her that she would not have the right to be in the premises of her company and that she would be “undocumented”,” it was reported. One of them told her that she “could go back to her country” if she was not satisfied with being here. “While she was perfectly calm and there was no reasoning behind it, she was violently grabbed by the arm” by a police officer, who allegedly made “a violent arm lock” by “positioning her knees on the ground” against a sofa. “My client, whose husband is a police commander, never imagined being treated like this by police officers,” Yassine Bouzrou told AFP. “She feels she was assaulted and treated this way because she is Chinese, based on the statements made by the police,” he added. A witness to the scene “who expressed concern about the behavior of the police officers, was also a victim of violence and violently removed from the premises,” the document denounced. “There are videos that show part of the scene,” another source said. The manager, “deeply shocked” by the events, “has a certain emotional shock” and “a significant hematoma” on her arm. No offense was alleged against her by the police, it was recalled in the complaint. The Chinese community in Paris regularly denounces being the target of racist remarks and discrimination.
