--- title: Viral Video of Man Slapping Woman Sparks Outrage in France description: A viral video capturing a shocking scene of violent harassment outside of a Paris cafe has sparked outrage across France canonical: https://time.com/5353530/france-cafe-harassment-video/ author: Casey Quackenbush article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-07-31T03:11:02.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T21:00:25.716Z article:section: World og:title: Viral Video of Man Slapping Woman Sparks Outrage in France og:description: The attacker threw an ashtray in her direction and struck her in public og:url: https://time.com/5353530/france-cafe-harassment-video/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8f6f3bb3aae49204/698936ab22fb85199de264d6/gettyimages-867901238.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Protesters against sexual violence in Toulouse og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Viral Video of Man Slapping Woman Sparks Outrage in France twitter:description: The attacker threw an ashtray in her direction and struck her in public twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8f6f3bb3aae49204/698936ab22fb85199de264d6/gettyimages-867901238.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Viral Video of a Man Slapping a Woman in Public Sparked Outrage Across France by [Casey Quackenbush](/author/casey-quackenbush/) ## Casey Quackenbush Jul 31, 2018 3:11 AM CUT  People, mostly women gathered in Toulouse, France to denounce sexual harassment after the Harvey Weinstein' scandal on October 29th 2017. People, mostly women gathered in Toulouse, France to denounce sexual harassment after the Harvey Weinstein' scandal on October 29th 2017.Alain Pitton—NurPhoto/Getty Images by [Casey Quackenbush](/author/casey-quackenbush/) ## Casey Quackenbush Jul 31, 2018 3:11 AM CUT A viral video capturing a shocking scene of violent harassment outside of a Paris cafe has [sparked outrage](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/30/uproar-in-france-over-video-of-woman-marie-laguerre-hit-by-harasser-in-paris-street "undefined") across France, the _Guardian_ reports. CCTV footage appears to show 22-year-old Marie Laguerre in a red dress crossing paths with a bearded man in a black T-shirt outside of a cafe. He says something to her, and she turns her head and replies. Both continue walking in opposite directions. A few seconds later, the man picks up an ashtray from an empty table at the cafe and hurls it in her direction. She is no longer in view. The man then walks back towards the woman, who moves back into the frame, and strikes her across the face so hard she loses her footing and hits the glass fencing around the cafe terrace. Shock and confusion grip customers at the cafe, one of whom grabs a chair, before the attacker walks off. The video has gone viral since Laguerre, an architecture student, posted the footage on Facebook, and has given new momentum to the country’s effort to outlaw public sexual harassment. According to Laguerre, the man “made dirty noises, comments and whistled” when the two passed each other, which Laguerre responded with “Ta gueule,” or “shut up,” the _Guardian_ reports. “I didn’t even think he heard me,” Laguerre told _Le Parisien_. “But he had heard me and suddenly things happened suddenly. He grabbed an ashtray and threw it at me. It missed my head by a few centimeters.” “I felt hatred. I refused to be demeaned, it was humiliating,” she added. The incident is being investigated, but the attacker has yet to be identified. French equalities minister, Marlène Schiappa, said she was “outraged … but not surprised, unfortunately” by the assault, according to the _Guardian_. “The political response must be strong and it is, because for the first time in France we will fine those responsible for street harassment,” Schiappa added. Schiappa helped [propose](http://time.com/5209679/france-proposes-immediate-fines-for-public-sexual-harassment/ "undefined") a new bill in March that would charge immediate fines of up to $920 for public [sexual harassment](http://time.com/5083809/times-up-hollywood-sexual-harassment/ "undefined"). Backed by [French President Emmanuel Macron](http://time.com/emmanuel-macron-president-france-interview/ "undefined"), the bill would charge sexual offenders on the spot for public behavior like “degrading or humiliating comments” or “sexual or sexist” actions towards someone. “I was so annoyed I didn’t want to hide, to look down. That he dared to be angry when it was me who had reason to be angry,” Laguerre told journalists. “I turned to him and everything went extremely fast, but then I knew he was going to hit me. I was even ready to fight. When the blow came, I took it without showing any emotion. He continued to scream.” Laguerre also posted the video on YouTube, where she wrote in French, “This is unacceptable behavior. It happens everyday. These men think they can do anything in the street, who think they are allowed to humiliate us and who don’t like it when we are offended. It’s unacceptable.” “I am sick of feeling unsafe walking in the street. Things need to change, and they need to change now.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5353530/france-cafe-harassment-video/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5353530/france-cafe-harassment-video/"},"headline":"Viral Video of a Man Slapping a Woman in Public Sparked Outrage Across France","datePublished":"2018-07-31T03:11:02.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T21:00:25.716Z","description":"The attacker threw an ashtray in her direction and struck her in public","url":"https://time.com/5353530/france-cafe-harassment-video/","keywords":["France","onetime","overnight"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8f6f3bb3aae49204/698936ab22fb85199de264d6/gettyimages-867901238.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Casey Quackenbush","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/casey-quackenbush/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8f6f3bb3aae49204/698936ab22fb85199de264d6/gettyimages-867901238.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Protesters against sexual violence in Toulouse","caption":"Protesters against sexual violence in Toulouse","creditText":"Alain Pitton—NurPhoto/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/france/","name":"France"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5353530/france-cafe-harassment-video/","name":"Viral Video of a Man Slapping a Woman in Public Sparked Outrage Across France"}}]}] ```