Paris (France) (AFP) - France on Sunday opened an attempted murder probe after petrol bombs were thrown at security forces during Paris protests, as footage of an officer engulfed in flames sparked outrage.

On Saturday, clashes erupted in Paris and other cities after hundreds of thousands of people staged a third weekend of protests against soaring living costs.

The Paris police prefecture said several hundred rioters had attacked security forces with projectiles.

While riots were less widespread than two weeks ago, when France experienced some of its worst unrest in years, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said the violence perpetrated by some was “extraordinary”.

Dramatic images, including AFP photos and video, showed a homemade incendiary device exploding at the feet of a security officer in protective gear, engulfing his lower body in flames.

Prosecutors said an investigation had been opened for “attempted murder of persons vested with public authority”.

“Explosive devices were thrown at around 15 gendarmes as well as police officers,” prosecutors said.

Gendarmes are military police officers who are part of the French armed forces.

Prosecutors said the reported injuries included second-degree burns, adding that no suspects had yet been arrested.

- ‘Under assault’ -

A video circulating on social media showed a police officer performing crowd-control duties when his leg suddenly caught fire.

The footage showed two colleagues struggling to extinguish the flames as a man in a white T-shirt and straw hat rushed to the officer’s aid, attempting to put out the fire with his bare hands. Moments later, another officer pushed the man away and shoved him against a wall.

“In the heat of the action and under pressure, we thought this man had come to attack us, and my colleague pushed him away and used a restraint technique. This protester, or street medic, had actually come to help,” the gendarme, identifying himself only as Captain Alexandre in accordance with French regulations, told AFP.

“I didn’t immediately understand why he was there because I was completely focused on a difficult operation while my trousers were on fire,” he said, adding he was grateful for the man’s help and wanted to thank him.

Speaking separately to broadcaster RTL, the gendarme said his unit was “under assault”, with glass bottles, paving stones, and firebombs thrown at them.

“We were hit by several significant incendiary devices,” he said.

“The flammable substance was so greasy that I could feel it spreading across my skin,” he said. “I kept wondering when it would stop because I really felt as though I had been coated by the heat itself.”

The officer, who received minor injuries, said the leg and shin protections on his riot uniform melted.

After watching the footage of the attack, the officer said he was surprised by “the intensity” of the incident. The video made him realise “that we may also have come close to a catastrophe”.

His unit had been on leave but was recalled ahead of the protests.

The gendarmerie said that 13 members of the officer’s unit had been injured, according to RTL.

- ‘Far cry from 1968’ -

The protests come in a tense political climate, with presidential elections six months away and frontrunner Marine Le Pen vowing to restore law and order if elected next year.

Le Pen, the leader of the far-right National Rally party, said on X those responsible for the firebomb attack must be “punished with the utmost severity”.

Both she and Bruno Retailleau, head of the right-wing Republicans, described images of the officer in flames as “unbearable”.

Right-leaning Le Figaro said: “The days of the May 1968 riots are a far cry from today, when gendarmes facing the most violent protesters wore… ties.”

More than 770 people were arrested across France, the interior ministry said.

A total of 159 members of law enforcement were injured during protests and Halloween celebrations.