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French prosecutors probe fund for policeman who sparked riots

French prosecutors said on Wednesday they had opened an investigation into an online collection for a French police officer who sparked nationwide riots in late June by shooting a teenager dead in a Paris suburb.

Published: 19 July 2023 16:29 CEST
French prosecutors probe fund for policeman who sparked riots
Protesters show a banner reading Justice for Nahel. Photo by Marco BERTORELLO / AFP

The initiative on GoFundMe.com, launched by far-right media commentator Jean Messiha, received pledges of more than €1.6 million before it was closed in early July.

The mother of the 17-year-old shot dead in Nanterre on June 27th filed a legal complaint via her lawyer, alleging fraud, misuse of personal data and conspiracy in these crimes by Messiha.

A legal probe by specialised financial crime investigators was underway, the Paris prosecutor told AFP on Wednesday.

“We welcome the speed of the decision by the prosecutor,” Yassine Bouzrou, who is acting for the dead boy’s mother, told AFP.

Messiha was contacted for comment.

OPINION: The €1.6 million fund for accused police officer reveals deep divides in France

The 38-year-old motorbike traffic officer behind the killing of French-Algerian teenager Nahel Merzouk has been detained and charged with voluntary manslaughter.

The shooting, at point-blank range, sparked the most intense urban violence in France since 2005 and rekindled complaints about heavy-handed policing and racism in deprived areas of the country.

Messiha said the fund, which was intended for the officer’s family, was “a cry from French people to demand order, a cry of love for their security forces.”

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CRIME

Teens charged in France over plot to attack Jewish targets: judicial source

French prosecutors have charged a 19-year-old man and a youth in the Paris region with planning a "terrorist" attack on Jewish targets, a judicial source told AFP on Friday.

Published: 22 June 2024 12:47 CEST
Teens charged in France over plot to attack Jewish targets: judicial source

While no details on the pair have been released, French anti-terrorist investigators have expressed increased concern over the young age of some suspects detained in recent months for planning militant attacks.

The 19-year-old has been charged with “terrorist conspiracy” to commit attacks and the “acquisition and possession of arms for a terrorist enterprise,” said the judicial source, speaking on condition of anonymity.

READ ALSO: Anti-Semitism fears stalk Jewish voters’ choice in France

The youth aged under 18 was detained on June 13, the source said.

The pair made contact on social media and were planning a “a violent action notably aiming at Jewish targets,” said the source without giving details on the plot.

Anti-terrorism investigators say a growing number of youths have been held in recent months for preparing attacks.

READ ALSO: French election breakdown: TV debates, polling latest and anti-Semitism

“This is a necessarily worrying phenomenon,” senior anti-terrorist prosecutor Olivier Christen said at an evidentiary hearing on Wednesday.

French politicians have also condemned a growing number of attacks on the country’s Jewish community, the biggest outside Israel and the United States.

Outrage has been expressed over the rape of a 12-year-old Jewish girl in a park in the Paris suburbs last Saturday. Two 13-year-old boys have been charged with rape and making anti-Semitic insults.

Several protest rallies have been held in Paris and other French cities over the case which comes as France prepares for a national election in which the far-right National Rally party is tipped to make major gains. 

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