A French police officer will stand trial over the killing of a teen that sparked nationwide riots
PARIS (AP) — A French police officer will face trial next year on charges of voluntary homicide over the killing of a 17-year-old of North African descent, a death that triggered nationwide riots.
The prosecutor's office in the Paris suburb of Nanterre, where victim Nahel Merzouk grew up and was killed in 2023, announced in a statement that magistrates decided Tuesday to send the police officer to trial after a two-year investigation.
The officer, identified in legal documents only as Florian M., was initially detained but released a few months later pending further investigation. He is expected to face trial in the third quarter of 2026, the prosecutor's office said.
Merzouk's family and lawyer did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the announcement.
The teenager was shot during a traffic stop in Nanterre. Video showed two officers at the window of the Mercedes the youth was driving, one with his gun pointed at Merzouk. As the car pulled forward, the officer fired once.
After the killing, Nanterre prosecutor Pascal Prache said his initial investigation led him to conclude that the officer's use of his weapon wasn't legally justified.
Protests over his killing spread around France and some turned violent, with s tores looted and public buildings torched. Thousands of people were arrested as the government ratcheted up its law enforcement response to quell the unrest, and hundreds of people were injured. In related protests in the overseas territory of French Guiana in South America, a 54-year-old died after being hit by a stray bullet.
The reaction to the killing was a potent reminder of the persistent poverty, discrimination, unemployment and other lack of opportunity in neighborhoods around France where many residents trace their roots to former French colonies.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hamilton Spectator
38 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Trump administration finds Harvard failed to protect Jewish students, threatens to cut all funding
WASHINGTON (AP) — Harvard University failed to protect Jewish students from harassment, the Trump administration concluded after an investigation, threatening to cut all federal funding from the Ivy League school if it fails to take action. A federal task force sent a letter to Harvard on Monday finding the university violated civil rights laws requiring colleges to protect students from discrimination based on race or national origin. It says investigators found Harvard was at times a 'willful participant in anti-Semitic harassment of Jewish students, faculty, and staff' and that campus leaders allowed antisemitism to fester on the campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts. 'Failure to institute adequate changes immediately will result in the loss of all federal financial resources and continue to affect Harvard's relationship with the federal government,' officials said in the letter, which was obtained by The Associated Press and first reported by The Wall Street Journal. Harvard did not immediately comment. It's the latest intensification in the White House's battle with Harvard, which lost more than $2.6 billion in federal funding after rejecting a list of federal demands calling for sweeping changes to campus governance, hiring and admissions. ____ The Associated Press' education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at . Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Hamilton Spectator
an hour ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Protesters urge Wimbledon to cut ties with Barclays over Israel business deals
LONDON (AP) — Pro-Palestinian protesters urged Wimbledon to drop Barclays as a sponsor Monday because of the British bank's business dealings with Israel. About two dozen protesters from Palestine Solidarity Campaign demonstrated by the main entrance of the All England Club as thousands of fans arrived for Day 1 of the tournament. 'They're the bank for the arms companies that are obviously supplying weapons to Israel,' protester Khalid Zalmay told The Associated Press. 'We should not be arming Israel, we should not be allowing anybody to facilitate arming them, and I think ties should be cut with Israel, the same way that ties were cut with Russia.' One protester held a sign that said Barclays is a 'sponsor of Wimbledon and genocide.' Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251 people in the Oct. 7, 2023 attack that sparked the Israel-Hamas war . Israel's military response has led to the death of 56,000 Palestinians , according to the Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. It says more than half of the dead were women and children. Wimbledon did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Barclays said it is 'proud of our partnership with Wimbledon' and defended its business practices. 'We provide a range of financial services and products to companies supplying defense products to the UK, NATO and its allies,' the company statement said. 'As NATO, the EU and UK seek to increase their defense capabilities in response to increasing geopolitical threats, the provision of financial products and services to the defense sector is becoming increasingly important.' ___ AP tennis:
Hamilton Spectator
an hour ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Supreme Court throws out appellate rulings in favor of transgender people in 4 states
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday threw out appellate rulings in favor of transgender people in four states following the justices' recent decision upholding a Tennessee ban on certain medical treatment for transgender youths. But the justices took no action in cases from Arizona, Idaho and West Virginia involving the participation of transgender students on school sports teams. The court could say as soon as Thursday whether it will take up the issue in its next term. The high court ordered appellate judges to reexamine cases from Idaho, North Carolina, Oklahoma and West Virginia involving access to medical care and birth certificates . The action was unsurprising because the court had set the cases aside until after it decided the Tennessee case , as typically happens when the same legal issue is being considered. The rulings all included findings that the restrictions on transgender people imposed by the states violate the Constitution's equal protection clause. In the Tennessee case, the Supreme Court ruled that there was no constitutional violation in a state law prohibiting puberty blockers and hormone therapy to treat gender dysphoria in people younger than 18. The justices ordered the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, to review its decision that West Virginia's and North Carolina's refusal to cover certain health care for transgender people with government-sponsored insurance is discriminatory. The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will get back a case from Idaho stemming from the state's ban on certain surgical procedures for Medicaid recipients. The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver will review its ruling blocking an Oklahoma ban on people changing their gender on birth certificates. In one other case, from Kentucky, the justices rejected the appeal of transgender minors and their families challenging that state's ban on gender-affirming care. ___ Follow the AP's coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court at .
