A French policeman who shot and killed a teenager at point-blank range during a traffic stop in the working-class suburbs north of Paris – sparking a week of violent protests nationwide – will stand trial for "violence resulting in death" rather than murder.
The officer, known as Florian M, was initially to appear in a criminal court with a jury on the charge of murdering 17-year-old Nahel Merzouk on 27 June, 2023.
However, his lawyer appealed and in its ruling on Thursday, the appeal court downgraded the charge from murder to violence resulting in death – a lesser offence tried without a jury.
It said it had "not been established" that the officer had intended to kill Nahel at the moment of shooting.
"Florian M could have been convinced that by restarting, the Mercedes was likely to endanger the physical integrity of third parties or of himself," the court said.
'Scandalous' decision
Mobile phone footage of an officer shooting Nahel, who was sitting in the driving seat of the car, during a traffic stop on a busy street went viral following the incident, sparking days of protests.
The police initially maintained that Nahel had driven his car at the officer. But this was contradicted by the video, which showed two officers standing by a stationary car, with one pointing a weapon at its driver.
Florian M was released from custody in November 2023 after five months in detention.
His lawyer, Laurent-Franck Lienard, argued the charges should have been dropped entirely, saying his client had simply "followed the law".
Frank Berton, the lawyer representing Nahel's mother, described the ruling as "scandalous" and "shameful", saying the downgrade effectively shielded the officer from facing a jury.
Death of Nahel brings old problems in France's suburbs back to the surface
Police violence
The case has renewed scrutiny of police violence in France, where few cases of alleged police brutality make it to criminal court. Most are dealt with internally.
France's top court last month blocked the reopening of an investigation into the 2016 death of 24-year-old Adama Traoré in police custody, in a case that triggered national outcry. The young man's family has vowed to take the case to Europe's top rights court.
In January, several thousand people protested in Paris over the death in custody of a Mauritanian immigrant worker, El Hacen Diarra, 35. He died after passing out at a police station following his violent arrest.
In 2024, a judge gave suspended jail sentences to three officers who inflicted irreversible rectal injuries on Theo Luhaka during a stop and search operation in 2017.
Calls for justice for teenager shot dead by French police two weeks before Nahel
A report in 2024 by France's independent rights body found that young men "perceived as Arab, black or from North Africa" were four times more likely to be stopped than the rest of the population.
They were 12 times more likely to be subjected to more severe measures, including being frisked during checks, it said, after a survey of more than 5,000 people.
(with newswires)
