Injured Jamaican in France claims attack was racially motivated

As the eyes of the world turn to the highly anticipated Olympic Games in France next month, last weekend offered a heartbroken look for a Jamaican of Spanish descent living in the European country who had to treat a bloody eye following what he believes was a racially motivated attack.

Sehan Thompson, who has lived in France for six years, was punched in the face in the early hours of June 8 in Rennes, where Thompson lives, by a man who was part of a group of six people.

“The attackers, three women and three men, provoked the incident,” claimed Thompson, a freelance business consultant for World Beat Music Group and volunteer ambassador for EU4UA.org, a nonprofit organization that helps displaced Ukrainians in need of housing.

“As I was crossing the one-way street on Rue de la Monnaie and walking onto the other pedestrian walkway, a male attacker noticed that I was too close to them. We were all heading west and I found it strange that he made this comment right after pushing me,” he said. Loop News In an exclusive interview, he described in detail the sequence of events after he left one nightclub to go to another.

Thompson, who has dual Jamaican and Spanish citizenship, said he stopped to ask why he was being shoved and retaliated by pushing his alleged attacker back.

“In response, they all pushed me against the wall in front of a store… where there are cameras. One of the men then delivered a direct punch to my left eye, causing serious injuries.

“During the assault, they made comments about the color of my skin and claimed I was from Mali, Africa. I managed to free myself from the corner and took out my phone to start recording.

“One of the women in the group sarcastically remarked, ‘Il parle,’ which means ‘he speaks,'” Thompson said.

“Another woman mocked me by saying, ‘Appelle la police (all police)’ and covering her eyes in jest. Two of the men shielded themselves from being filmed while the other man shouted to the others, ‘Let’s go’.”

“One of the women eventually knocked the phone out of my hand to stop the recording. After the incident, everyone fled the scene,” he added.

Thompson, a Jamaican native who lives in Trelawny and St. James, is a long-time mover and has also lived in the United States, England and Scotland. Loop News that he had filed a complaint with the Rennes police, but had previously attempted to establish emotional contact with the online community immediately after the incident.

Sehan Thompson, who has lived in France for six years, takes a “selfie” at Mont Saint-Michel in Normandy in 2022.

“Knowing the police system in France, I knew that officers would not arrive at the scene immediately and that the attackers had already fled. I quickly turned to social media for help and used Facebook Live for the first time. The presence of the spectators made me feel more confident as I explained the situation,” he said.

Thompson, 47, continued: “I knew the location of the main police station in Rennes, which was listed online as being open 24 hours. I made my way there. Facebook LiveHowever, when I arrived, I saw a sign indicating that the door would not open until 8:30 a.m. I repeatedly pressed the call button and shortly thereafter four officers arrived in a minivan.

“I told them what had happened and expressed that I needed to file a report. They informed me that due to my injuries I needed to be examined by emergency services and could not file a report until 8:30 a.m.

“The emergency team arrived and I was taken to hospital for treatment. At the hospital, my injuries were assessed visually without x-rays and I was prescribed paracetamol and ice,” Thompson said. “I returned home and submitted an online report at 10am on Saturday, June 8, 2024.

“On June 10, 2024 at 10:20 am, I received an email from the police station asking me to come directly to the station with evidence to file the report in person as my online report was cancelled. I went to the station and filed an official report at 3:08 pm,” he continued.

Thompson said he had “witnessed this type of racially motivated behavior at least five times, but not once did it result in physical injury.”

“In each of these cases, I was provoked, teased and pushed just because I was in a place where they shouldn’t have stopped me,” he said.

Nazila Mais-Dumontet, vice president of JaminFrance, is outraged but not entirely surprised by the reported attack on Thompson. The organization promotes the Jamaica brand in France and supports Jamaicans in their transition to life in the European state.

“Racism is very subtle in France,” Mais-Dumontet said, before recounting a domestic incident with her then-white husband years ago in which blood ran down her face and police officers ordered her to leave their marital home.

“That was the solution, not to bring the man to the police station,” said Mais-Dumontet Loop news.

French-Jamaican musician Nazila Mais-Dumontet, Vice President of JaminFrance

Referring to the Thompson incident earlier this morning, against the backdrop of a recent escalation of anti-immigration policies by right-wing governments in some parts of Europe and the expected number of Jamaicans flying to France for the Paris Olympics in July, Mais-Dumontet warned:

“You should always be aware of your surroundings. This is true everywhere, but with political tensions and the Olympics approaching, fascists and racists are feeling powerful. Be especially aware of groups and try not to walk alone.”

She also recommended the following course of action in the event that a Jamaican visitor becomes the victim of a physical attack:

They should call 17 and report immediately. If they are seriously injured, an ambulance will come, and if not, they can go to the police and report it. I would suggest calling so they can come to the scene of the accident.

Corn Dumontet Put Loop News in contact with a Jamaican chef and musician who was the victim of a gang attack after only one month in France.

He asked for anonymity and said the incident occurred in September 2021 in the town of Cergy, 27 kilometers northwest of Paris.

“I was sitting alone on a park bench between 5 and 6:30 p.m. when a group of five white men attacked me. They punched me in the face several times, my lips were cut and my eyes were swollen. They took my wallet and my phone,” he recalls.

After the attack, the then 30-year-old went to the police station to file a report.

“When I got there, they just said they didn’t speak English and I should wait for a translator. I was there for more than six hours, until just before 3 a.m., and still no one came,” he said.

The brutal encounter traumatized him.

“I decided to move to the Netherlands because it was clear that I would not be safe there and would not be cared for. Just thinking about this country and talking about it worries me a lot. I don’t want to say that I hate France, but I can’t imagine going back there,” said the Jamaican.

Unlike his hasty departure from France, Thompson remains attached to the country despite the unfortunate circumstances that have befallen him.

“I moved to France from Spain because I fell in love with Rennes when I first visited in 2015. However, the France I remember when I moved here is different from today. In the last two years, people’s behaviour has changed significantly,” he said.

On what he hopes to achieve following his injury last Saturday, Thompson said:

I want the two men directly involved in the attack – the one who initiated it and the one who punched me in the left eye – to be charged and held publicly accountable for their actions.

“The others who participated in the teasing should receive a formal warning,” he said.

Efforts by Loop News Attempts to obtain a comment from the Jamaican Foreign Ministry following Thompson’s alleged attack were unsuccessful. Questions sent to the ministry remained unanswered at the time of publication.

Loop News The French embassy in Jamaica was also contacted, but it declined to comment.

In addition, by the time of publication, I had not received a response to my email correspondence with the Rennes police station, where Thompson had submitted the report, seeking an update on the status of the investigation.

By Omar Tomlinson