International News
French Policeman To Stand Trial Over Killing Of Teen
The French policeman who shot and killed a teenager at point-blank range in 2023 outside Paris, sparking days of riots, is to go on trial on a murder charge, a court and prosecutors said Tuesday.
The trial of the officer, who has been charged with the murder of Nahel M., 17, could take place in the second or third quarter of 2026, the court and prosecutor in the Paris suburb of Nanterre, where the killing took place, said in a joint statement.
The officer, identified as Florian M., was released from custody in November 2023 after five months in detention.
Mobile footage of him shooting Nahel inside a car during a traffic control on a busy street went viral. The anger sparked protests that degenerated into rioting and led to scenes of devastation nationwide.
The police initially maintained that Nahel had driven his car at the officer, but this was contradicted by the video, which showed two officers standing outside a stationary car, with one pointing a weapon at its driver.
“This order for a trial is both disappointing and not surprising,” said Laurent-Franck Lienard, the officer’s lawyer.
“The investigating judge would have had to be courageous to take a different position than that of the prosecution,” which pushed for the trial, the lawyer told AFP, adding that he would appeal against the order.
“We maintain that the shooting was legitimate,” he said.
Frank Berton, the lawyer for Nahel’s mother, expressed his “satisfaction” over the move.
“We are just seeing the law being applied… Now all that remains is to convince the court,” he said.
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The move to try the officer over the death of Nahel, who was of North African origin, comes against the background of new tensions in France over racism and security.
A man who had posted racist videos shot dead his Tunisian neighbour and badly wounded a Turkish man in the south of France at the weekend, and a Malian man was stabbed to death in a mosque in April.
Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, who is taking an increasingly hard line on immigration issues, has faced accusations of not taking a strong enough stance against such crimes and even fuelling a racist climate.
But he said Monday that “every racist act is an anti-French act”.
Jeremy Doku insisted Manchester “will keep on fighting” in the Premier League title race despite their “painful” draw with Everton on Monday.
City drew 3-3 with the Toffees at Hill Dickinson Stadium, with Doku scoring a 97th-minute equaliser, having also scored the opening goal.
Doku’s equaliser (96:49) is City’s third-latest goal on record (since 2006-07) in a Premier League game after John Stones’ strike against Arsenal in September 2024 (97:14) and Gabriel Jesus’ goal against Everton in February 2019 (96:52).
Doku has had a hand in six goals across his last five games for City in all competitions (four goals, two assists), as many as in his previous 22 games combined (one goal, five assists).
The Belgian also created the most chances in the match against Everton (four), completed the most dribbles (5/7) and won the most duels (14/19).
City avoided defeat in a Premier League game despite trailing by 2+ goals as late as the 82nd minute for the first time since March 2012 against Sunderland (3-3).
They went on to win the league title in 2011-12, and Doku believes City can still beat Arsenal to the trophy this season.
“First half, we played well and created a lot of chances. We know if we don’t score those chances, it is going to get difficult at the end,” said Doku.
“Obviously, they are at their own stadium, they create chances, and they are dangerous, and they scored two goals, but I think we gave them the game.
“Good that we came back because one point is not bad in games like this.
“We will see. It feels painful now. There is still a lot of games to go. We lost two points, but we know that one point can be important at the end.
“We will keep on fighting. We owe it to ourselves and to our fans.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Nigerians interested in repatriation from South Africa will be responsible for the cost of their return trip to Nigeria.
The ministry’s spokesperson, Kimiebi Ebienfa, stated this during a press briefing on Monday in Abuja.
The briefing came shortly after a closed-door meeting between the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Dunoma Ahmed, and the South African Acting High Commissioner, Lesoli Machele.
Mr Ebienfa said the process will be self-funded and not state-funded, as it is a voluntary decision that the Nigerian government will only facilitate and coordinate.
In the recent past, such reparations have been sponsored by Nigerian airline owners, particularly Allen Onyema, the CEO of Air Peace.
The Nigerian government, on Sunday, indicated its readiness to repatriate its citizens from South Africa due to xenophobic violence.
The effort primarily targets Nigerians who feel threatened by the xenophobic violence and tension in parts of South Africa, as the protests against black immigrants in the country continue. Two Nigerians were killed last month.
Since the announcement, about 130 Nigerians in South Africa have expressed a willingness to return home voluntarily.
Mr Ebienfa stated that the return of the Nigerians depends on their financial capacity, as they would be expected to fund their trip back home individually.
He said, “Those willing to leave are expected to approach the high commission and, given that their decision is voluntary, have the resources to fund their return to Nigeria.”
The government will not “provide an aircraft from Nigeria to convey them.”
He also noted that the speed of the repatriation process will be determined by the availability of funds.
“Yes, 130 as of this morning have registered, but actualisation would be required to have their flight ticket to move back to Nigeria.”
Mr Ebienfa also explained that Nigerians who have so far expressed interest are motivated either by concerns about threats to their lives or by fear of arrest by South African law enforcement agencies.
“There are two groups of Nigerians who want to come back. One group feels the country is not safe for them and wants to come. They have all their papers intact.
“Then there is also the second group that has travel document violations or resident permit violations. And instead of running away from law enforcement, they are appealing that the government facilitate their movement back to Nigeria,” he explained.
However, he noted that the process is still being worked out and that the government would step in to provide aircraft or other needed assistance if tensions rise and the situation becomes more volatile.
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