French activist who called a mother threatened with rape 'collateral damage' apologises — but says the threat was unrelated to protests

Bettina Zourli, a gender studies graduate and supporter of Jean-Luc Melenchon's La France Insoumise, now calls her words "shocking". The woman she dismissed had been at home with her child when a rioter threatened to rape her for trying to stop looting downstairs. Zourli insists the threat had "NOTHING TO DO" with the October 17 mobilisation. She runs sociology workshops at Rennes 2 University.
Gabriel Attal, the Renaissance party's presidential candidate, condemned her on Instagram.
Last weekend's protests saw 3,000 shops ransacked and almost 1,000 police officers injured.
France is bracing for another weekend of unrest.
