British boy, 8, gassed by police as family crossed pro-Palestine protest to get to Paris holiday apartment

A British family on holiday during May half term were tear-gassed by French police in Paris as they walked across a pro-Palestine protest to reach their accommodation.

Radia Austin, 46, has questioned if the French capital is a safe place to host the Olympics in July after her son Lawrence, eight, was left with acute eye problems.

Radia, Lawrence, and dad Paul Austin, 45, were returning to their apartment after visiting the Eiffel Tower when police “blindly” threw tear gas canisters into the crowd. Radia says Lawrence was left screaming in agony after one landed at his feet.

She says the family approached the police for help however they were simply told to “wash his eyes”. Two weeks later, she says Lawrence is still struggling with throbbing pain in his eyes and is booked in to see a specialist.  

Radia, from Betchworth in Surrey, said:

“We were walking, holding hands, behind a barrier on the touristy side where people were walking, not on the main road closed off for demonstrators. We just had to cross the road to get to our apartment but as we were crossing we heard boom sounds and next thing the gas came out.

“Before you know it you can't breathe and your eyes are burning, people start shouting and my son started screaming. Since then he has had a lot of shouty nightmares at night and keeps asking why the police did this to him.”

French police (la Police nationale) did not respond to a request for comment.