French State To Compensate Demonstrator Who Lost An Eye in 2009 Protest

Joachim Gatti was injured on July 8, 2009 (Represenbtational)

Bobigny, France:

A French court on Thursday ordered the state to pay more than 100,000 euros to a demonstrator who lost an eye after being shot with a rubber bullet by a police officer in 2009.

An administrative court in Montreuil, just outside Paris, ordered the state to pay 105,350 euros ($112,000) to Joachim Gatti. Gatti’s lawyers had asked for more than 500,000 euros.

His injury had prevented him from exercising his previous profession as a cameraman and editor because of the effect it had had on his vision, the court’s ruling noted.

It also limited the jobs for which he could retrain, it added. Gatti has since found part-time work as a cook and a teacher.

The controversial weapon used against Gatti fires a “flashball”, a kind of rubber bullet, and has since caused similar injuries at other demonstrations.

The police officer who fired the weapon that hit Gatti was convicted on appeal in 2018, receiving an 18-month suspended sentence.

Gatti was injured on July 8, 2009, when police moved in to clear a squat in Montreuil and dispersed demonstrators who had gathered in front of the building.

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