A woman who was attacked outside a Paris cafe after telling a man to stop sexually harassing her has said she felt "humiliated".

Marie Laguerre was on her way home from work when a stranger started making lewd remarks as he walked past her.

In an interview with BFMTV, she said he made "sexual noises, showing his tongue, whistling", which she found "humiliating and degrading" so she told him to "shut up".

The man picked up an ashtray from one of the outdoor tables of the cafe and threw it across the terrace at Ms Laguerre, before walking back towards her.

Footage of man striking woman shocks France

"He started running towards me and I knew he was going to hit me," she said.


"I did not have many options, I was not going to run, I was not going to apologise, I was not going to look down."

"He hit me. It was very strong. He was really mad. He was very violent," she said.

The blow to the 22-year-old architecture student's face was so hard she fell against a glass barrier of the cafe terrace.

Customers leapt out of their seats - one man even grabbing a chair - as they moved to remonstrate with the attacker as he strolled away holding a black jacket over his left shoulder.

"They stood up and they were ready to confront him. But he was very dangerous," said Ms Laguerre.

Image: Customers remonstrate with the man (far left)

She went home shocked, but returned to the scene 20 minutes later to collect witness statements, while the owner of the cafe gave her the CCTV recording of the 24 July attack which went viral after she posted it on her Facebook page.

"When I'm on the street I'm not comfortable, and I'm not the only one," she said.

"All women are familiar with this. All women have gone through harassment. This is something that we say and keep on saying, but we need to keep on saying this.

"If a video like this triggers reactions, it is a good thing because things have to change, they must change now, mindsets have to change."

The assault is being investigated by police and the Paris prosecutor, but her attacker has still not been found.