Maya Vidon

Special for USA TODAY

PARIS — Throngs of youth went on a rampage Wednesday in five Paris suburbs to protest the alleged beating and rape of a black man with a police baton, authorities said.

The violence, including setting cars on fire and tossing Molotov cocktails, began Tuesday night in response to the Feb. 2 assault on a 22-year-old man identified by authorities only as Theo in Aulnay-sous-Bois. He allegedly was sodomized with a police officer’s baton during an identity check.

Four police officers have been suspended, one was charged with aggravated rape and three were charged with aggravated assault, according to local authorities.

The incident revived tensions in the poor suburban neighborhood where police-related deaths have sparked civil unrest before.

"People from the suburbs feel they are second-class citizens, that they are the forgotten children of the Republic,” said Fouad Ben Ahmed, a community activist in Bondy, northeast of Paris. “They are angry.”

Ben Ahmed strongly condemned the rioting, but said what happened to Theo was "abominable."

"It's plain inconceivable to imagine that anyone would endure such things,” he said. “That (the police) could think they would get away with it in total impunity. This only happens in the worst dictatorships.”

Police said Theo suffered head trauma and underwent surgery for a severe anal injury.

Theo, who has no police record, told French broadcaster BFMTV: "I saw him with his baton. He rammed it into my buttocks on purpose. I fell onto my stomach. I had no strength left.”

Theo urged the rioters to “stop the war and stay united,” adding that he had faith in the justice system.

French President François Hollande visited the young man in the hospital Tuesday and stayed at his bedside for a half-hour.

"We must have trust in the justice system, that the process will be thorough. Decisions have already been made in order for the truth to come out," Hollande said during the visit.

Police union leader Yves Lefebvre said the riots were unacceptable.

“There is an investigation underway,” he said. “My colleagues — just as any other citizen — must benefit from the presumption of innocence. These youths want to take advantage of this affair to fight against the police. That's profoundly damaging. When you set alight a police station it's a bid to undermine the dignity of the police and attempt to directly — or indirectly — kill them."

The incident has sparked tensions between the police and youths in Parisian suburbs that have reached the boiling point several times in recent years.

In 2005, two teenagers were electrocuted while hiding from police in an electricity substation, triggering weeks of riots. Around 10,000 cars were burned and 6,000 people were arrested. Last year, violence erupted after the death of Adama Traore, 24, while in police custody in another suburb.

Tension over policing in France has become a political issue with the presidential election less than three months away.

Polls show that ultranationalist Marine Le Pen, who casts herself as the defender of security forces, is in the lead, with 26% of the vote and likely will make the runoff election with the other top candidate from the first round.

"Politicians will use this story for election purposes," said Ben Ahmed. "It's extremely unhealthy and clearly it can benefit the ultra-right-wingers."

Helen Sahin, a Paris resident, said the atmosphere in the city was tense because of the attack. "Something allegedly terribly unjust has just happened," said Sahin, a stay-at-home mother of two. "It wasn't just police brutality, it was alleged police rape. When they de-humanized him, it means they de-humanized a whole community. It's the perfect recipe for tension to spark."