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PARIS – Six years after the incident that sparked national outrage and intensified debates regarding police conduct in France, the trial of three police officers accused of assaulting music producer Michel Zecler has officially opened at the Paris Criminal Court. The proceedings, which commenced this Monday, are scheduled to last for two weeks.
The three defendants, aged 29, 37, and 50, are facing serious charges, including willful violence committed by persons in positions of authority and the falsification of public documents. If convicted, they face up to 15 years in criminal imprisonment. A fourth officer involved in the case is set to be tried separately in a correctional court.
The 2020 Assault
The incident occurred on November 21, 2020, during the COVID-19 lockdown. Michel Zecler was intercepted by a police patrol outside his music studio in Paris for not wearing a mask and suspected cannabis consumption. CCTV footage from the studio, which later surfaced and went viral, showed the officers forcing Zecler into the narrow entryway of his studio, where they proceeded to beat him repeatedly.
According to investigators, the producer was struck approximately 30 times with fists and batons between 19:42 and 19:47. Medical examinations conducted afterward documented craniofacial trauma, scalp wounds, and a complete rupture of the biceps tendon, resulting in a 45-day period of total work incapacity (ITT).
Conflict of Narratives
The initial police report claimed that Zecler had attacked the officers and attempted to seize their batons. However, the discovery of the surveillance footage contradicted this account, leading to the dismissal of the initial case against the producer. During the investigation, the accused officers admitted that Zecler had not struck them, but maintained they acted out of fear for their lives.
While Michel Zecler has consistently alleged that he was subjected to racial slurs-specifically being called a “dirty nigger”-the justice system did not include a racial motive in the charges due to a lack of sufficient evidence.
Now 47, Zecler continues to suffer from the physical and psychological aftermath of the assault. “Six years is a very, very long time,” he told the press, adding that the approach of the trial has brought back nightmares. He remains critical of what he views as an institutional failure to address systemic issues within the police force.
Source: TF1 Info
