France | Police violence: officers in court in Paris

Video footage shows several police officers brutally attacking music producer Michel Zeller in the entrance to his production studio. Photo: Stefano Rellandini/AFP/dpa Paris.  Six years after a shocking case of police violence in France, three officers will have to stand trial in Paris from this Monday on charges of serious bodily harm, trespassing and damage to property. They are said to have checked the music producer Michel Zecler in Paris on November 21, 2020 because he was not wearing a corona mask, followed him to his music studio and brutally beat him there. A private surveillance camera filmed the actions of the officers, who then threw a tear gas grenade into the studio.

The act caused horror in France, even in the Élysée Palace, and fueled the debate about police violence. The accusation made by the black producer that the officers also insulted him racially is not part of the indictment. The three officials, who are under judicial supervision, face up to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to 225,000 euros.

After the police operation, the music producer said that he was walking near his studio in the 17th arrondissement without a corona mask, even though it was mandatory. Then a police car came and he went to the studio a few meters away. The police officers followed him. Then the surveillance camera starts recording, about eight and a half minutes.

The images show how the officers push Zecler into the entrance, beating him repeatedly, three against one. »I always said to myself: If you fall to the ground now, you will stay there. Then you won't be able to get up," the producer told the magazine Loopsider, which published the recordings. With the help of musicians from the studio basement, he is finally able to force the police officers out of the studio. A few minutes later, a tear gas cartridge flies into the studio.

Officers then reportedly said the producer assaulted them. But the recordings showed the opposite, the public prosecutor's office initiated an investigation and the officers were suspended. They had “soiled the uniform of the republic,” said then-Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin.

Police violence occurs again and again in France - often revealed through video recordings. Officials have also been accused of violent actions during the current mass protests. Many see a structural problem with the French police; in addition to violence, there are also allegations of racism. 

Despite repeated criticism from human rights organizations and international institutions, France has not yet implemented any fundamental reform of its police force.

President Emmanuel Macron initiated a consultation process with police unions, citizens and politicians in 2021, in which the government at the time also addressed structural problems within the police. This led to measures such as more personnel and resources for the police, extended training and a limited opening of the internal police supervision IGPN to external persons. 

However, the French human rights commission CNCDH complained in 2023 that many of its recommendations for restoring trust between the police and the population had remained unanswered.

As far as racism in police operations is concerned, the French Council of State found in 2023 that discriminatory police checks based on external characteristics do indeed occur and are not isolated cases. However, he saw no evidence of a systemic or widespread phenomenon. In 2024, the UN Human Rights Committee again expressed concern about racist police controls and called on France to take countermeasures.  dpa/nd

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