Hundreds of people have marched in Paris angered by claims a man suffered a serious sexual assault after being arrested.

A large crowd demonstrated in Aulnay-sous-Bois carrying banners demanding "Justice for Theo" while nearby someone had scrawled "Police, rapists" on a wall.

The 22-year-old was allegedly attacked with a baton during what police said was an ID check in the suburb of the French capital on Thursday.

The man, who has only been identified as Theo, was taken to hospital.

One officer has been charged with rape and another three have been charged with assault.


Theo described being ordered by police to stand against a wall in Aulnay-sous-Bois.

"I saw him with his baton. He rammed it into my buttocks on purpose. I fell onto my stomach, I had no strength left," he told French television station BFM on Monday,

Image: Marchers carry placards in protest at the alleged assault of a man in a Paris suburb

Video footage of the arrest filmed by the police has been released.

"The feeling of humiliation is felt by people," Abdallah Benjana, a former deputy mayor, said.

"They do that to a young man, it can only explode," he added, referring to the neighbourhood.

Interior Minister Bruno Le Roux confirmed on Sunday that all four officers had been suspended.

Frederic Gabet, a lawyer for the officer charged with rape, told Europe 1 radio that his client "had never wished at any time to cause any injury to the victim and that the blow had been carried out in a totally involuntary manner, without his being aware of any injury".

Yves Lefebvre, a police union chief, suggested the rape charge was filed "to calm or to stop a violent outburst" in the suburb.

Several clashes between police and protesters occurred on Saturday and Sunday, centred on a housing estate called 3,000.

A car was set on fire, bus stops smashed and angry demonstrators tried to torch a bus. Five people were detained.

An offshoot of the US group Black Lives Matter has seized on the case and helped organise protests in the wake of the alleged assault.

The march also follows the death of a 24-year-old in police custody in another Parisian suburb last year.

In 2005, the death of two teenagers who were electrocuted while hiding from police sparked weeks of riots and Aulnay-sous-Bois was among the worst hit areas.