Vanessa Langard

"I feel like I’m not myself anymore," Vanessa Langard told AFP at her home in Plessis-Trevise near Paris on March 19, 2019. She is coming to terms with her new life after being struck - with a rubber bullet, she claims - during a yellow vest protest. A scar on her face is the only visible injury, but she is also virtually blind in her left eye, which is still intact.

Why were you there?

I care for my grandmother. She lives with me in this apartment. The number one reason I was protesting was for older people. I get 380€ (per month) from the government and my family helps me with the rest. Macron talked about slackers, but I had a second job lined up alongside my work as a glass decorator. I don’t think I was a slacker.​

What happened?

I was surprised because it was a very peaceful protest, not like earlier ones I’d seen on the news (...) We came across a line of riot police. We turned around and started walking. Plain-clothed police came and started firing. I took a hit. My best friend heard “bam! bam!” She turned around, a black thing fell to the ground, so she knew it wasn’t tear gas.

There are lots of things I don’t remember. But I have seen pictures of myself on the ground with my head split open. You could see the bone. My friend was traumatised. She thought I was dead. I don’t think there was anything dangerous that day about four people who were turning the other way, holding hands to stay together. There was no threat, nobody shouting, nobody throwing things.  ​

What is your life like now?

I’ve been in hospital twice, once for a brain hemorrhage and then to put three metal plates in my head. They couldn’t save my eye. Then there’s the disability you can’t see. I get headaches, tiredness, people don’t understand why I’m exhausted because I seem fine physically. I feel like I’m not myself anymore. I used to take care of myself, I loved getting ready to go out, wearing make-up, but I can’t do that anymore. My life now is a daily battle. I’ve got a year of rehabilitation ahead of me.​