French Producer Awaits Trial Six Years After Police Beating

French music producer Michel Zecler is awaiting the opening of a trial involving three police officers, six years after he was beaten during the country’s lockdown.

The officers are scheduled to stand trial in Paris on 9 November. They face charges of falsifying a public document and intentional violence committed by a group. According to the source report, they could receive prison sentences of up to 15 years.

Incident at Zecler’s studio

Zecler was stopped outside his studio on 21 November 2020 because he was not wearing a mask and on suspicion of cannabis use. He was then pushed inside the premises and struck around 30 times over a period of about four minutes.

The incident gained wider attention after CCTV footage was revealed by the website Loopsider. The footage contradicted the officers’ account that Zecler had insulted and resisted them.

Zecler continues to report physical and psychological after-effects. He has also said that he remains deeply scarred and angry over the police violence.

Dispute over alleged racist abuse

Zecler says he was subjected to racist abuse during the incident and intends to repeat the allegation in court. The justice system, however, did not recognise a racist dimension to the case, citing insufficient evidence.

Zecler has also said that, without the camera footage, the police reports could have resulted in him being sent to prison. The CCTV evidence became central to the challenge against the officers’ description of what happened.

The upcoming proceedings will address the allegations against the three officers. The source report does not identify them by name or specify the court where the trial will be heard.