The trial of nine French CRS officers, who were filmed beating Yellow Vest protesters in Paris in December 2018, opens in the capital on Monday.
The nine officers, from France's riot police division, the CRS, aged between 30 and 52, face charges of "wilful violence by a person holding public authority". Some are also accused of "aggravated violence".
The events in question took place on 1 December, 2018, during the anti-government Yellow Vest protest movement, when protestors tried to ransack the Arc de Triomphe.
A group of protesters and at least one journalist covering the unrest entered a nearby Burger King restaurant to escape tear gas, after violent clashes broke out between police and demonstrators.
CCTV footage on the premises, along with videos captured by journalists and bystanders, showed members of the CRS entering the premises and using batons to strike several people who were already on the ground or had their hands up.
Multiple victims reported physical injuries and psychological trauma.
If found guilty, the officers face up to seven years in prison and a €100,000 fine.
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'Police violence is a major issue'
Natan Arthaud, 32, is one of the victims of the Burger King assault.
CCTV footage showed him curled up on the ground, protecting himself with his arms as a group of riot police surrounded him.
Arthaud, from the Loire region, was signed off work for five days after receiving 27 blows to his arms and legs.
"Police violence is a major issue," he told local media in an interview in August 2024.
"I hesitated a great deal [before filing a complaint]. I was aware that by bringing a civil action against the riot police, I wasn't taking on just anyone."
In July 2024, after lengthy proceedings, the Paris public prosecutor requested a criminal trial, noting that some riot police officers "armed with batons and shields" had "repeatedly struck non-hostile demonstrators" who were on the ground or "trying to come out with their hands raised".
In late February last year, an investigating judge referred nine officers to the criminal court on charges of aggravated intentional violence by a person holding public authority.
The officers are expected to argue that they were operating under extreme stress and "insurrectional" conditions, following hours of being targeted with projectiles by rioters.
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Long investigation
The case, which has taken seven years to come to trial, is one of the largest collective trials of police officers arising from the Yellow Vest protest movement.
Triggered by fuel hikes and the cost of living crisis, the movement mushroomed into a wider protest against President Emmanuel Macron and his pension reform.
Some 212 cases of alleged police brutality have been investigated by the IGPN police oversight body in relation to the protests.
In December 2019 a CRS officer was handed a two-month suspended sentence for wilful violence, after he was filmed hurling a paving stone at a protester during Yellow Vest protests on 1 May that year. He continued in his post.
The trial at the Paris Judicial Court is scheduled to run until 12 February.
