Trial Begins for Three Police Officers Accused of Assaulting Michel Zecler in Paris

The Paris Trial Begins Three suspended police officers went on trial in Paris facing charges of aggravated assault and writing false public documents against music producer Michel Zecler, Le Figaro reported.

Courtroom Space Constraints The trial of the three officers opened before the criminal court of Paris on Monday, November 9, 2026, amid a controversy regarding the minuscule size of the Ezrati courtroom in the basement of the courthouse, according to franceinfo.

Vincent Brengarth, the lawyer for the family of Cédric Chouviat—whose own police violence trial was recently adjourned at the end of October under similar conditions—denounced what he called a stratégie d’invisibilisation regarding police violence cases on X.

Opening of the Trial and Defendant Details

The proceedings started on Monday morning with a half-hour delay at 10 a.m. The three defendants—Aurélien Lapersonne, Pierre Plantier, and Philippe Tondeux—have been suspended from the police since the incident and are appearing free under judicial supervision for a scheduled two-week trial ending on November 20. They arrived wearing surgical masks, which they removed when taking their seats on the defense bench, before speaking to state their identities.

Michel Zecler arrived a few minutes after the hearing began, dressed in a navy blue suit over a white shirt, just in time to confirm he is joining the proceedings as a civil party.

The underlying incident occurred on November 21, 2020, during the Covid-19 epidemic, when the officers initially stopped Michel Zecler for not wearing a mask, followed by what they stated was a “suspicion of cannabis consumption.” Zecler was pushed inside his studio where he was beaten with punches and baton blows for six minutes without defending himself, captured by a CCTV camera.

Public Reactions and Support in Court

Due to the tiny courtroom, dozens of supporters and witnesses were relegated to an annex room to watch via a live screen, prompting the court’s president to ask everyone to take turns while maintaining courtroom calm. Among them were notable figures including Paris deputy mayor Audrey Pulvar, singer Princess Erika, actor Jean-Pascal Zadi, Skyrock host Fred Musa, rapper Stomy Bugsy, and Théo Luhaka, a victim of 2017 police violence whose own trial Zecler attended in 2024. Fred Musa, Stomy Bugsy, and other close acquaintances are scheduled to testify as witnesses on Thursday.

The question of racism also emerged during the hearings. While the parquet did not retain racism as an aggravating circumstance at this stage, Zecler had stated he was called a “dirty negro” multiple times during the beating.

The third accused defendant was questioned about racist messages and a George Floyd photomontage, while his partner testified that he was stable and not specially impulsive or violent before that November evening, repeating twice that she would not be with him if he was racist.

Called to the bar late in the day, the defendant acknowledged that family violence had marked his upbringing while assuming and expressing regret for his racist messages, stating at the bar, Je regrette profondément ce quod j’ai pu dire et je regrette ces blagues qui sont déplacées and Je ne suis pas raciste, sinon je n’aurais pas pu entrer dans la police. During his testimony, he also assured the presiding judge that firearms are not a passion and did not motivate his decision to join law enforcement.