Evry (AFP) – Seven young people in the rough neighbourhood of the Grande borne, suspected of being “directly involved” in the violent assault with Molotov cocktails against four police officers in Viry-Châtillon (Essonne), in October, were indicted Friday for “attempted murder” and imprisoned.
Twelve young people aged 17 to 19 years had been arrested Tuesday and Wednesday in this case, which had generated a vast movement of discontent with police in recent months.
the Five were released at the end of their custody, and seven were presented Friday to two judges of instruction. The seven were put in examination “of the head of attempted murder on the people agents of the public authority, committed by organized group”, and was placed in detention, said the prosecutor in a press release.
For this type of crime, the seven indicted face up to life imprisonment, had explained the public prosecutor of Evry, Eric Lallement, during a press conference at mid-day.
The seven suspects are all from the Grande borne, a city difficult, straddling the communes of Grigny and Viry-Chatillon, and some belong to the “same band”, according to the prosecutor. They are all “implicated for having directly participated in the violent assault against police officers”.
During their time in custody, six have denied any involvement in the facts”. The seventh “has acknowledged to be present but have only thrown stones,” according to Mr. Lallement.
On October 8, fifteen of the attackers had set fire to two police cars, being watched by a camera installed near a red light is known for its robberies with violence on motorists, on the edge of the Large Terminal. On the four agents, two had been severely burned, two other slightly older.
The assault had triggered a movement of rebellion, unprecedented in its scale, in the police base: many demonstrations took place across France.
Their anger has prompted the government to introduce in January a bill to amend the rules of self-defence of police officers, to align with those of the gendarmes, who have the benefit of a more flexible system in case of danger. The text will be examined by the Senate starting on the 24th of January, before being forwarded to the deputies.
- Three minor, four major -
The Interior minister Bruno Le Roux has, in a press release Friday, “commended the investigators whose rigorous work has led to this day, after the investigation has been long and thorough”, the seven indictments.
Three of the seven suspects presented to the judge were minors during the assault, said the prosecutor. One of them has become a major a dozen days after the fact. The other four were already major in October.
Among the seven suspects, two of which are already being examined in another folder for “attempt of murder”. One case, dating back to September 2015, retaliation on a teenager while they were still minors.
A third suspect had already been convicted by a court for children for voluntary violence.
The seven young people “are not aware that it is a criminal matter”, told AFP a source close to the investigation.
“there is not a single brain (to the attack) among them,” concedes an investigator. But “it’s no longer just kids who are having fun. When one is already indicted for attempted murder and preparing an attack with Molotov cocktails, this is serious”, he says.
In December, a minor, suspected of being involved in the making of Molotov cocktails had been indicted, and another put under status of witness assisted, intermediate between the indictment and the state of witness.
Since the attack, three of the four police officers attacked have been deployed in the service of their choice, according to the prosecutor. The fourth and the most severely burned, a deputy of security for 28 years, has been promoted to keeper of the peace. It is out of the hospital Saint-Louis in Paris in December, and has built a rehabilitation centre in Seine-et-Marne.
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