Overview
- Prosecutors charged Officer Florian M. with murder and scheduled his trial for the third quarter of 2026 at the Nanterre court.
- The June 2023 traffic stop turned fatal when 17-year-old Nahel Merzouk was shot at close range in his Mercedes and the incident was captured on mobile footage.
- Video evidence contradicted initial police claims that the teenager’s car had driven toward officers before the gunshot was fired.
- Days of protests and riots erupted nationwide after the killing, resulting in looted stores, arson attacks, hundreds of injuries and thousands of arrests.
- Merzouk’s family and their lawyer welcomed the decision to pursue a trial as an essential step toward accountability for police violence.