A French police officer who fatally shot a teenager at close range in June 2023, igniting several days of unrest, is set to face murder charges, according to court officials and prosecutors.
The officer stands accused of murdering 17-year-old Nahel M in the Paris suburb of Nanterre.
The trial is expected to occur in either the second or third quarter of 2026, as stated in a joint announcement from the court and the prosecutor’s office.
The officer, named Florian M, was released from detention in November 2023 after spending five months in custody.
This incident incited protests that escalated into riots, resulting in widespread destruction across France.
Initially, police claimed that Nahel had aimed his vehicle at the officer, a claim contradicted by video evidence showing two officers beside a stationary car, with one pointing a weapon at the driver.
The incident prompted riots in Paris and throughout France.
“The decision to proceed with a trial is both disappointing and expected,” commented Laurent-Franck Lienard, the officer’s attorney.
“The investigating judge would have needed great courage to oppose the prosecution’s call for a trial,” he stated, adding that he plans to file an appeal against this ruling.
“We assert that the shooting was justified,” Mr. Lienard noted.
Frank Berton, representing Nahel’s mother, expressed his “satisfaction” regarding the trial decision.
“We are merely witnessing the law being upheld … Now we must persuade the court,” he remarked.
The decision to prosecute the officer over Nahel’s death, given that he was of North African descent, emerges amid rising tensions in France related to issues of racism and security.
Recently, a man who posted racist content fatally shot his Tunisian neighbor and severely injured a Turkish man in southern France, while a Malian man was murdered in a mosque in April.
Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, who has adopted a tougher stance on immigration matters, has been criticized for not sufficiently addressing these crimes and potentially exacerbating a racist atmosphere.
Nonetheless, he asserted that “every racist act is an anti-French act.”
