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3w ago

French Officer to Face Murder Trial Over Fatal 2023 Nanterre Shooting

The court’s ruling follows a two-year inquiry into the point-blank shooting that triggered widespread unrest across France.

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Tributes have poured in for the Tunisian murdered in southeastern France
TOPSHOT - An attendee holds a banner reading "Justice for Nahel" as cars burn in the street at the end of a commemoration march for a teenage driver shot dead by a policeman, in the Parisian suburb of Nanterre, on June 29, 2023. Violent protests broke out in France in the early hours of June 29, 2023, as anger grows over the police killing of a teenager, with security forces arresting 150 people in the chaos that saw balaclava-clad protesters burning cars and setting off fireworks. Nahel M., 17, was shot in the chest at point-blank range in Nanterre in the morning of June 27, 2023, in an incident that has reignited debate in France about police tactics long criticised by rights groups over the treatment of people in low-income suburbs, particularly ethnic minorities. (Photo by Bertrand GUAY / AFP) (Photo by BERTRAND GUAY/AFP via Getty Images)

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.