CCTV shows woman being slapped in the face after telling harasser to 'shut up'

Marie Laguerre said she 'wasn't going to look down and certainly wasn't going to apologise'

A man who harassed a woman and hit her in the face when she told him to stop was caught on camera.

Marie Laguerre was returning to her home in Paris when the man made a number of degrading comments and made obscene noises she walked past a cafe.

Feeling uncomfortable the 22-year-old told him to stop and "shut up".

"It wasn't the first time - that day, that week, or that month, It had been building up. I got angry and said 'shut up'. I didn't think he'd hear, but he did," she told French TV.

Angered by her response, the man threw an ashtray at her, missing by only a few inches.

Continuing with the insults, he then struck her across the face.

"I know he's going to hit me," she said. "I could have run off but there was no question of that. I wasn't going to look down and certainly wasn't going to apologise."

After people in the cafe intervened, Ms Laguerre went home, only to return later on to collect witness statements and complain to the police.

CCTV footage of the incident has since been posted online in an attempt to catch the man.

As the clip went viral, many offered their support to Ms Laguerre.

"I can't keep quiet and we mustn't stay silent," she said on Facebook.

France's Equalities Minister, Marlène Schiappa, said she was outraged by the attack on Ms Laguerre.

The government is planning to introduce on-the-spot fines for street harassment., which Ms Laguerre should come into place by the autumn.