French interior minister and former Paris Police Prefect Laurent Nunez has filed a defamation lawsuit against four members of the hard-left, accusing them of falsely claiming that “the police kill”.
The complaint targets three MPs from La France Insoumise (LFI): Paul Vannier, Aurélien Taché and Ersilia Soudais, along with LFI MEP Manon Aubry.
The statements in question were made on October 27 during LFI’s commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the deaths of Zyed Benna and Bouna Traoré, two teenagers who died while fleeing police in 2005.
Benna, 17 and Traoré, 15, were electrocuted while hiding inside an EDF power substation in Clichy-sous-Bois, sparking weeks of riots across France.
In 2015, two police officers charged with failing to assist were acquitted, with the court ruling that their actions had fallen within the scope of their duties.
In a social media post marking the anniversary of the teenagers’ deaths, Aubry said: “20 years ago, Zyed Benna and Bouna Traoré were killed during a police check. Since then, nothing has changed.
“Racism and violence continue to eat away at the police and cause deaths,” she wrote.
“Let us stop turning a blind eye and put an end to impunity,” Aubry added.
Tachié said: “Twenty years later, the stories repeat themselves: the police still kill and the victims are the same. You don’t raise children through fear.”
Nunez condemned the remarks as defamatory, alleging they suggested “a systemic desire within the police force to kill and target young people, particularly those from diverse backgrounds”.
He criticised LFI figures for using terms such as “colonial police” and “police who kill”.
Following news of the lawsuit, Aubry doubled down, denouncing Nunez for what she called a political attack.
“Rather than tackling racism and violence, he targets those who denounce them. Shame,” she posted on social media today.
This is not the first time tensions have erupted between the interior ministry and France’s radical Left over accusations of police brutality and institutional racism.
In August, former interior minister Bruno Retailleau filed a lawsuit against another left-wing MP, Gabrielle Cathala, who denounced “widespread racism in the police”.
Today, LFI publicly stood behind its members, accusing the Interior Minister of filing a lawsuit “for saying the truth”.
“The police kill, and they still kill today,” the party alleged, adding that “over the past 20 years, 162 people have died following a police check”.
In its press release, the party also pointed to previous legal complaints against French police. It highlighted the findings of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which urged France to review its legal framework on the use of lethal force and expressed concern over persistent racial profiling and excessive use of force.
The LFI reaffirmed its support for the MPs targeted by the lawsuit, concluding: “No complaint, no intimidation and no political pressure will make us back down.
“We will continue to denounce police violence, fight against systemic racism and stand up for justice.”
