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PARIS (Reuters) - Anti-police protests in the aftermath of alleged police brutality in a Paris suburb earlier this month descended into violence in the French capital on Wednesday night.

The protests, which have led to over 200 arrests around France, follow allegations that a young man arrested on Feb. 2 was beaten and raped with a police baton. An investigation is under way.

Protesters in the 18th District in the north of Paris lit piles of rubbish and rubbish bins on fire in the streets as riot police threw tear gas canisters, which were in turn thrown back at them.

A policeman has been placed under formal investigation for the suspected rape, and three others are under investigation for violent conduct during the arrest of the 22-year-old man in Aulnay-sous-Bois. The young man, Theo, whose family name has been withheld by authorities, remains in hospital with injuries to his anus and head.