France has suspended several police officers after a video of them beating a man was published online.
France Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said he personally supervised the suspension of the officers.
The beating of the man, identified by his lawyer as Michel Zecler, occurred over the weekend. In a televised address late Thursday, Darmanin said the video was "shocking" and he was forced to immediately take action.
"These images are unspeakable, extremely shocking and as soon as I learned about them, and about what happened, I asked for the suspension of those police officers," Darmanin said.
News website Loopsider published the video. The video included an interview with a man with facial injuries claiming that he was beaten by police.
"At that moment, I'm scared, I'm telling myself maybe today is my last day, here's what I thought to myself, it's my last day and I don't know why," the man said in the video.
He said he was walking near his studio when officers approached him for not wearing a facial mask. The man said he ducked into his studio to avoid paying a fine but officers caught him and beat him.
The Paris Police Prefecture said it was investigating. The general director of the National Police suspended the officers pending the investigation.
There are concerns over the passing of the country's new Global Security Bill - which essentially bans the publication of images that identify law enforcement officers "with the intent of causing them physical and mental harm."
The law, which was passed by the French National Assembly earlier in the week, resulted in protests in Paris. Journalists and civil liberties organizations have joined the protests.
