Paris Punch‑Out: Man Gets Six‑Month Jail and a Ten‑K Fine
When a vengeful blow landed on student Marie‑Laguerre outside a Downtown Paris café, the world watched the fury of her video clip go viral. The French court, in a brisk Thursday decision (Oct 4), gave the assailant a six‑month prison sentence and slapped him with a clutch of €2,000 (≈ S$3,100) in fines.
The Scene
- A sharply veiled attacker — known in court simply as Firas M — took out his anger by launching an ashtray at Laguerre, walking back in on her and punching her squarely in the face.
- Three restaurant patrons tried to step in, but our perceived hero slipped past them like a ghost.
- Police only caught him in August, after he tried leaving a psychiatric facility.
Why the Court Pushed Harder
The video didn’t just blow up on social media; it sparked a legislative push. Lawmakers dropped a new law on “cat‑calling” and lecherous behavior, handing out on‑the‑spot fines up to €750. That bit of legal spanking came after the assault, so the court ranked the act as aggravated violence with an object used as a weapon, not sexual harassment.
Jonesin’ Justice
“My client didn’t want a headline headline the headline,” interjected Laguerre’s attorney, Noemie’s Saidi‑Cottier. “She just wanted the boy after the punch to learn that, ‘That was a thing that is not okay.’ If he never does that again, she’s won.”
In addition to the jail and fine, the defendant faces a six‑month suspended sentence and is ordered to tackle his drug and alcohol dependency head‑on. The judge’s goal? To make his lesson stick, not just his head roll.
Public Response
Dismissed from the podium but not from the conversation, the link to Marie’s police‑shot “mouth‑hit” became a rallying cry for combating harassment in Paris. While the video turned into a viral sensation, it also helped bring French law around public safety, sexism, and street harassment into the spotlight.
