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Rouen assault victim recounts being surrounded and punched near fair

A radio discussion brings a firsthand account of the attack on young Catholics, alongside reporting by the journalist who investigated it.

Channel: Europe 1 ·

FranceStory of November 4, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? One of Europe 1's most watched videos since yesterday, with 179,593 views.

Europe 1: A French radio station on air since 1955, owned by the Bolloré family's media group. 2.3M subscribers and 2B views.

"Sale blanc, je suis musulman je vais b*iser ta mère" : Des catholiques passés à tabac à Rouen

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0:00Christine Kelly introduces Boulevard Voltaire's reporting on an assault near Rouen's Saint-Romain fair.
2:18Aliénor Pompignole describes two assaults, including one involving young Catholics celebrating a birthday.
5:43A participant recounts a crowd gathering after his group was identified as fascists.
8:03He describes raising open hands, protesting that they had done nothing, then being punched in the forehead.
10:30He rejects provocation as an explanation and says he believes the attackers were looking for targets.

A birthday outing ended in violence near Rouen's Saint-Romain fair, according to a young man who describes being surrounded, insulted and punched in the forehead during a telephone interview.

France's Europe 1 radio station carries his account in a discussion hosted by Christine Kelly. The program follows reporting by Boulevard Voltaire, a French news and opinion website associated with the far right, about attacks in the Normandy city on the night of October 31 into November 1.

Journalist Aliénor Pompignole, who investigated the incidents for the website, describes two assaults that night. One involved a group of about fifteen young Catholics celebrating a birthday and heading toward the fair. According to the reporting presented in the program, several dozen people surrounded them, with insults directed at their appearance and presumed identity.

The telephone testimony begins roughly five minutes into the recording. The young man recounts how a shouted accusation identifying the group as fascists was followed by a crowd rapidly gathering around them. He describes opening his hands and repeatedly saying they had done nothing, before receiving a blow to the forehead that left him bleeding.

Kelly also speaks with Gabrielle Cluzel, Boulevard Voltaire's editorial director, who connects the account to her broader concerns about safety at public gatherings. Those remarks are commentary, distinct from the participant's description of the assault.

Asked about possible provocation, the young man rejects that explanation. He says he did not defend himself physically and believes the attackers had been looking for people to target, rather than responding to anything his group had done.

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