British boy, 8, tear gassed by French police after being caught in Paris protests
The family had encountered a thousands-strong march of pro-ceasefire demonstrators clashing with riot police
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A British child aged just eight has been left with ongoing acute eye pain after being tear-gassed by police when his family became caught up in a pro-Palestine protest in Paris.
Lawrence Austin was walking through the French capital with his parents, Radia and Paul, when they came across a thousands-strong march of pro-ceasefire demonstrators clashing with riot police.
The family from leafy Surrey had been attempting to get back to their half-term holiday accommodation - but when cops lobbed tear gas canisters into crowds, the eight-year-old Lawrence fell victim to the caustic chemical.
Mother Radia Austin, 46, said the family had gone to police for help after the "scary and traumatic" events unfolded, but they were told to simply "wash his eyes".
Protesters were spotted clashing with police in the French capital - leading to Lawrence Austin's run-in with tear gas
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Radia said that in the weeks following the accidental attack, her son has been struggling with eye pain - forcing him to see specialist medics.
She said: "It was scary and traumatic - we felt our eyes burning and it was hard to breathe but my biggest concern was my little one.
"We just had to cross the road to get to our apartment but as we were crossing we heard 'boom' sounds and next thing the gas came out.
"Before you know it you can’t breathe and your eyes are burning - people start shouting and my son started screaming.
MORE PARIS CHAOS:
Protesters turned out in droves at the end of May to demand a ceasefire in Gaza
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"All I did was walk back to the police and said 'help us please, my son is in agony', but he just stared at us and didn’t help me.
"Since then he has had a lot of shouty nightmares at night and keeps asking why the police did this to him."
Lawrence's mum likened the moment police threw the tear gas to a "scene of war", and detailed how the family were unable to flee to safety in their holiday flat thanks to the deluge of protesters.
Once the vacationing Britons eventually reached their accommodation, Radia said the family were effectively confined inside, adding that going out to eat or drink was "impossible" thanks to the tear gas in the air.
Safety concerns for tourists visiting the French capital will doubtless continue over the summer - particularly as Paris gears up for its flagship Olympic Games.
The Games' opening ceremony, slated to take place on the city's River Seine, has already been scaled back for security reasons.
A senior French interior ministry official has said French President Emmanuel Macron had demanded halving the number of spectators from 600,000 following crowd control and security concerns, according to Politico.
The official said the "main threat" to the Games was "Islamist terrorism" - but conceded French intelligence had not yet identified specific plots, and groups like Isis and Al-Qaeda did not have the financial capacity to carry out attacks in France.
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