PARIS (Reuters) – French President Emmanuel Macron was “very shocked” by images purporting to show a Black music producer being beaten up and racially abused by Paris police, BFM TV reported, quoting comments given to it by the presidency.
French authorities are investigating allegations that the music producer was physically assaulted and racially abused during a police check after CCTV footage of the incident was released.
The beating inside the entrance of a building was captured on closed circuit television and mobile phone footage which circulated online and was headline news on French TV channels.
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin told France 2 television on Thursday that the officers would be sanctioned if the alleged wrongdoing was confirmed.
The alleged victim, who has only given his identity as Michel, told reporters he was jumped on by police at his music studio in Paris’s 17th arrondissement (district) on Nov. 21.
He said he had been walking in the street without a face mask – against French COVID-19 health protocols – and, upon seeing a police car, went into his nearby studio to avoid getting a fine. However, he said, the police followed him inside and began to assault and racially abuse him.
(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
