A man calmly eating his sandwich while police and protestors in France clashed metres away from him has become the latest hero of the internet.
In a video, dozens of angry protestors can be seen hurling projectiles at police dressed in full riot gear in what is believed to be a Parisian suburb. A large fire burns between the groups sending plumes of smoke into the air.
Amid the chaos the man sits on a public bench eating his sandwich, apparently unfazed. The video published on 30 June quickly went viral, amassing 9.3m views.
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Twitter users praised the man’s calmness, with one person saying: “Normal summer activity in France: a person casually eating his sandwich in the midst of anti-police riots.”
Another person said: “When you buy a baguette in Paris everyone knows you are allowed to finish eating it anywhere you like.”
One commenter called the scene: “The Frenchest thing you’ll see today.”
Another said: “This is another level of bravery.”
The scene comes after nearly a week of violent social unrest in France after police allegedly shot dead a 17-year-old boy of Algerian descent, named as Nahel M.
Police initially suggested the teenager drove his car towards them intending to hurt them, local media wrote. But footage verified by the AFP news agency appears to show an officer pointing his weapon at the driver through the car window and firing at point-blank range as the person behind the wheel seemingly tries to drive off.
The officer who allegedly fired the gun had said he opened fire because he felt his and his colleague’s lives were in danger. He has since been arrested on charges of voluntary manslaughter.
Forty-five-thousand police officers were deployed across the country on Friday evening as the government scrambled to bring the situation under control, with everybody from President Emmanuel Macron to footballer Kylian Mbappe calling for an end to the violence.
The video of the man eating his sandwich echoes a similar slip shared earlier this year during another French protest.
In March, diners were filmed calmly drinking a glass of wine in Bordeaux while demonstrators lit fires in the streets metres away from them.
It seems that even a nationwide social uprising won't come between the French and their lunch.
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