A 15-year-old boy in Marseille aimed a burning spray can at the face of a 40-year-old woman who tried to stop youths from vandalizing a bus shelter during ongoing student protests. The teenager has now been arrested on suspicion of the attack.

The incident occurred on Thursday morning, during the ongoing high school protests against cuts to the French school budget, when the woman was attacked. She works as a care assistant and had tried to stop the vandalism.

Shortly before ten o’clock, she was standing at a bus stop near Colbert High School when a group of young people tried to smash the bus shelter with a metal fence.

The woman intervened in an attempt to stop them. After the group was pushed back, a masked boy dressed in black stepped forward. Using a lighter, he ignited a spray can and directed the flames at her face. This is reported by Le Figaro.

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To BFMTV the woman says she tried to reason with a group of girls. She urged them to protest rather than vandalize. Some seemed to listen, while others continued.

“He aimed at my face”

Then, the now-suspected 15-year-old boy, with whom she had spoken calmly just a short time before, walked straight toward her with his flamethrower.

– I did not expect such violence. He didn’t aim at my clothes or at my legs. He aimed at my face. Why, she asks.

How badly the woman was injured by the flames is not entirely clear, with differing reports in the media. The French news outlet 20 Minutes writes that she was treated for facial burns, and Le Parisien reports first-degree burns.

Confessed and Regrets

The boy was arrested on Friday evening after police reviewed surveillance footage. He is 15 and a half years old and is in his first year of the personal services program at the same high school.

He was previously unknown to the police and judicial authorities. In questioning, he confessed to the act immediately. When he realized the gravity of what had happened, he is said to have expressed remorse as well.

On Sunday, the boy was brought before a judge. He is suspected of a particularly cruel act, and the prosecutor wants him to be remanded in custody. This is reported by France Info.

SEE ALSO: Students set fire to schools in France