French police officers face trial over beating of black man not wearing mask during Covid
Three French police officers are to stand trial for beating a black music producer who they claim wasn't wearing a face mask during the Covid pandemic.
The assault on Michel Zecler, now 47, triggered fresh outrage in France over police violence, which victims and researchers say is systemic but authorities and law enforcement unions claim is limited to isolated cases. The officers face charges of intentional violence committed in a group, as well as forgery when they tried to cover up their actions in an official report.
The incident
Police stopped Zecler outside his Paris studio on November 21, 2020, accusing him of failing to wear a mandatory face mask and suspecting him of cannabis use. They pushed him into the entrance of his office and violently beat him in an assault recorded by his studio's security cameras.
I expect this trial to hold the police officers accountable.
Legal consequences
The officers, Aurelien B (29), Pierre P (37), and Philippe T, face up to 15 years in jail. The producer sustained around 30 punches and truncheon blows to the face and body over a five-minute period, according to the investigation. The medical report noted craniofacial trauma, a wound to the lip and scalp, and a complete rupture of his biceps tendon, leaving him unable to perform his job for 45 days.
France's human rights ombudswoman has said police used "racist insults" during the assault, according to four witnesses. But the officers denied this and the alleged racism was not included in the indictment.
Broader context
Campaigners and rights groups have said the case was further evidence of what they see as the French police's systemic racism. Young men "perceived as Arab, black or from North Africa" are four times more likely to be stopped by police than the rest of the population, according to a report by France's rights ombudswoman.
Most cases of alleged police brutality in France are dealt with internally. Guilty verdicts in such cases are rare, as demonstrated by the 2024 suspended jail sentences given to three officers who inflicted irreversible rectal injuries on a black man during a stop-and-search in 2017.
Police brutality has been in the spotlight during recent student-led protests, during which a 14-year-old lost most of his teeth when a police officer appeared to fire a grenade at him at close range. The trial is set to begin on Monday.
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