The French police’s brutal physical and sexual assault of a young black man has sparked a stream of protests and uprisings across the nation. Coming just months before the presidential elections, the political consequences of the assault could prove crucial. While activists have planned a national march against police racism for March 19, the far-right National Front (FN) hopes to use the attack to mobilize more votes.

On February 2, four police officers stopped Théo Luhaka, a youth worker, in his home suburb of Aulnay-sous-Bois in northern Paris. Hours later, he was admitted to the hospital for emergency surgery. The officers had beat him, kicked him, allegedly spat on him, and racially abused him. One of the officers had penetrated his anus with an expandable police baton, tearing a four-inch gash in his rectum. His doctor declared him unfit to work for sixty days.

All four officers have been charged with aggravated assault and one of them with rape. Despite video evidence and Luhaka’s scarred body, each denies any wrongdoing.