Story By: Alex Cope, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Newsflash

This is the moment a French biker is seen screaming in pain on the ground after his leg was nearly ripped off by a cop in an incident which triggered the ongoing Paris riots.

The disturbing scene took place in Villeneuve-la-Garenne, in the department of Hauts-de-Seine in the region of Ile-de-France on the outskirts of Paris.

French cops claim the unnamed biker was riding at high speed when a policeman in an unmarked car opened the door and hit him.

The biker was reportedly sent flying and hit a pole, sustaining an open fracture of his leg according to the police source quoted in local media. Reports and netizens had first suggested that the biker’s leg had been “ripped off” but this has since been debunked.

He was transferred to hospital with a “serious leg injury” where he has had two operations.

In the video, the biker can be seen lying on the ground screaming in agony as cops allegedly try to treat his wound.

Onlookers can be seen having heated discussions with the officers and the motorbike involved can be seen on the pavement.

Local media report that the incident comes at a time of tension between French cops and ethnic minority groups in Paris with many accusing the French police of heavy-handed tactics during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Initial reports suggested the biker’s leg had been ripped off but reports now state he suffered a bleeding leg wound and an open fracture of the femur.

He was treated at the scene by the Mobile Emergency and Resuscitation Service before being taken in a non-life-threatening condition to hospital.

Mohamed, the injured biker’s father said: “We didn’t sleep all night, but now, after the operation, we are relieved.

“I thought I was going to die when they told me he had his leg cut off.”

Following the accident, some 50 individuals gathered in the street, reportedly launching projectiles at the police before fireworks were set off.

Local media report cars and street furniture were set on fire in the streets as riots continued until around 1:30 am, with police officers allegedly using tear gas to disperse the rioters. Tensions are still reportedly high in the Villeneuve suburb of the French capital.

The biker was out of surgery on Sunday morning and his lawyer Stephane Gas said that a first complaint was filed Monday morning with the Nanterre public prosecutor’s office and a second with the General Inspectorate of the National Police (IGPN, the French police force’s internal affairs).

The complaint reportedly reads: “My client guarantees that there was no one outside the car. He saw a black car and at the last moment the door opened. He had time to apply the brake but he was already at the door.”

The lawyer reportedly said that his client was driving between 70 kph and 80 kph (43 mph and 50 mph).

The complaint reportedly continues: “It is obvious that the policeman behind this manoeuvre deliberately sought, if not to bring him down, at the very least to hinder his progress.”