A French man pushed off a Paris metro train and racially abused by Chelsea supporters says the fans must be punished.

“These people, these English supporters, must be found, punished and locked up,” the victim of the widely condemned assault told Le Parisien newspaper.

The man, named as 33-year-old Souleymane S born in Paris to Mauritanian parents, said he would make a complaint to police about the incident.

• Racist hooligans push black man off train

Police on both sides of the Channel have launched a hunt for the self-proclaimed racist fans.

French politicians have demanded sanctions over the incident which happened before Chelsea’s 1-1 Champions League draw against Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday night (local time).

Amateur video footage showed Chelsea fans repeatedly pushing Souleymane S back off the train as he tried to board and then chanting: “We’re racist, we’re racist, and that’s the way we like it”.

“I didn’t know I was being filmed. The fact that it’s being talked about has given me the courage to go and file a complaint with the police,” Souleymane S said.

“I wanted to get into the carriage but a group of English fans were blocking me and pushing me off.

“They were saying to me things in English but I didn’t really understand the meaning of their words.”

He said he realised the fans were targeting him because of the colour of his skin.

“I live with racism. I wasn’t totally surprised at what happened, even if this was the first time it happened in the metro,” he said.

“I returned home without saying anything about it to anyone, not my wife, nor my children.

“What can I tell my kids? That papa was shoved in the metro because he’s black? That wouldn’t help things at all.”

The newspaper reported that Souleymane S lives in the north of Paris and works near the Richelieu-Drouot metro station where the incident took place.

It was at the station that Le Parisien said it came across him the following day.

According to the paper, Souleymane S was not aware of the furore the story had stirred up.

French prosecutors have opened an investigation into “deliberate racial violence on public transport”.

London police said they would assist the French investigation.

In a statement, Chelsea called the incident “abhorrent”. The club has called on its fans to help identify the supporters involved in the abuse.