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POLICE

Five police detained over death of man during France riots

Five French officers were arrested on Tuesday over the death of a 27-year-old man in the southern city of Marseille in early July during nationwide rioting, prosecutors said.

Published: 8 August 2023 12:33 CEST
Five police detained over death of man during France riots
French riot police vehicles in Marseille on July 1, 2023. Photo by CLEMENT MAHOUDEAU / AFP

France was convulsed in late June and early July by violent rioting over the killing outside Paris on June 27th of a teenager by a policeman during a traffic check.

The riots were met by a forceful police response. Hundreds of people were arrested and hundreds of police officers were
wounded.

But there has never been any confirmation of a member of the security forces or a protester losing their life during the events.

The five police officers, all members of the elite RAID unit, were detained in Marseille for questioning in the probe over the death of Mohamed Bendriss, prosecutors said.

Several civilians and police are also giving evidence as witnesses, the prosecutors added.

The incident took place during the night of July 1st-2nd during violent protests in the centre of Marseille sparked by the death of Nahel M., 17, who was shot dead by a police officer on June 27th during a traffic check.

Bendriss, a married father of one whose widow is now expecting a second child, lost his life after feeling unwell while riding a scooter.

His autopsy showed traces on his chest of what could be the impact of a shot from a blast ball – known in French as an LBD and commonly used by the country’s police.

The investigation is the latest controversy to target Marseille police.

Earlier this summer, a 22-year-old man called Hedi had to have part of his skull removed after being beaten up and fired on with an LBD on July 21st by a group of men suspected to be police officers.

Four Marseille police officers have been charged over the incident.

Three have been released under judicial supervision.

The fourth has been remanded in custody for the duration of the investigation. His detention caused huge controversy within the French police.

Officers across the country went on sick leave en masse as a sign of protest but a court last week rejected the appeal against his detention.

The officer admitted in court to firing a blast ball round, reversing an earlier denial, but said he did not see anybody injured. His lawyer added that there was no proof it was his round that had wounded Hedi.

The powerful police union, Alliance, said the ruling was “incomprehensible and very unfair”.

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PARIS 2024 OLYMPICS

Two computers stolen from French Olympics’ organiser in Lille

Two computers belonging to "a manager responsible for the planning of the Lille Olympic site" were stolen from a car parked in the city, the prosecutor's office said on Tuesday.

Published: 1 May 2024 08:38 CEST
Two computers stolen from French Olympics' organiser in Lille

However, the spokesperson did not specify the nature of the data linked to the Olympic Games that they contained.

“The complaint from a manager responsible for the planning of the Lille Olympic site was received on the evening of April 29 regarding the theft of two laptops and a badge which were in the organiser’s vehicle, which was parked in front of their home,” said Lille prosecutor Carole Etienne.

“Investigations are underway” to identify the suspect and determine “the exact nature of the data that these computers contained in connection with the 2024 Olympics,” she added.

According to a police source, one of the stolen computers was likely to contain “security plans” for the infrastructure of the Olympic village of Villeneuve-d’Ascq in Lille.

The theft occurred Monday at around 6:30 pm, according to this source, who said that access to files hosted on the network and the cloud was blocked by the Paris 2024 IT department.

“In accordance with Paris 2024 procedures, all data recorded on Paris 2024 computer equipment is encrypted and protected by passwords, and as soon as the theft was reported, the computer was locked remotely,”  a spokesperson from the Olympics’ Organising Committee (Cojo) said.

“The security of computer equipment is one of the priorities of Paris 2024, which has taken all risks into account in order to deal with any incident,” the Committee said.

The stolen badge was “an identification badge which does not allow any door to be opened” and “the computer was turned off”, a second police source told AFP.

At the end of February, a bag belonging to an engineer from the City of Paris and containing a computer and two USB sticks where notes relating to the Paris Olympic Games were stored was stolen from a train at Gare du Nord.

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