Armed with his water gun and foul language, a truculent 14-year-old Arab boy called Hamza has become the unexpected sideshow of the Paris heatwave season.

Videos have gone viral showing the pudgy Algerian adolescent in swimming trunks terrorising Parisians along the crowded Canal Saint-Martin in the blistering summer heat. Shirtless and bare-foot, Hamza aims his water pistol at pedestrians and cyclists, extorting two euros (£1.70) from targets who are commanded to pay up or get sprayed.

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As his notoriety exploded on social media, television crews tracked down Hamza on the banks of the canal. The media attention seems to have encouraged his belligerent antics. Videos show him tossing traffic signs into the canal, pushing sunbathers into the water, and chasing pedestrians with his water gun. He shouts vulgar epithets at anyone who escapes his extortion racket, calling them a ‘fils de pute’ (son of a whore).

Hamza gladly gives interviews, speaking in French laced with street slang. Asked what he wants to do when he grows up, he replied: ‘I want to be – what do you call it? – an investor.’ His Louis Vuitton cap underscores the paradox of his stroppy defiance. Nicknamed ‘La Douane’ (Customs Agent) for his shakedown tactics, he is unapologetic about his methods. ‘In Algeria, customs agents let you pass in........

© The Spectator