The Nahel case returns to the Versailles Court of Appeal on December 4. More than a year after the death of the 17-year-old driver, the justice system must rule on the referral of police officer Florian M. to the assizes for murder.
A crucial step in an explosive case that had set the country ablaze and whose stakes go far beyond the judicial framework alone. On June 27, 2023, during a traffic stop in Nanterre, police officer Florian M. shot 17-year-old Nahel Merzouk at point-blank range as the teenager tried to restart his vehicle. A few seconds that will tip France into six nights of riots of rare intensity.
The investigating judges considered that the use of the weapon was neither proportionate nor necessary, pointing to a shot comparable to a voluntary act. An analysis that the author of the shot continues to dispute.
A referral to the assizes strongly contested by the defense
In their order, the magistrates stressed that there was no evidence that the police officer was authorized to open fire, citing a violation of the fundamental principles of absolute necessity and proportionality.
However, Florian M. has maintained since the first day that he acted in self-defence, claiming to have felt in danger when the vehicle suddenly restarted. According to his version, Nahel also represented a risk to his colleague, who was then engaged nearby to try to shut down the engine.
A police officer convinced that he had acted to protect
As soon as he was taken into custody, the official explained that he feared being hit and said that the situation led him to believe that he had no other choice. Florian M.’s lawyer denounced an unfounded dismissal, considering that the judges had misunderstood the reality of field interventions and the extreme constraints to which police officers in action are subjected.
For the defence, the shooting was in response to an immediate threat, a version still disputed at this stage by the investigating magistrates.
A decision by the Court of Appeal awaited with tension
In examining the referral for murder on Thursday, the Versailles Court of Appeal finds itself faced with a case where law, self-defence and collective emotion are closely intertwined. The decision could reshape the judicial future of the police officer, while reviving a national debate on the use of force by the police.
