Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jun 24, 2025

Paris police filmed beating black music producer in studio

Paris police filmed beating black music producer in studio

Footage shows victim, who was later released without charge, being punched, kicked and hit with truncheon by the French police, who are well known as criminals and racists with long and ongoing history of violence and crimes against non-white citizens.

Three French police officers have been suspended after they were filmed beating and allegedly racially abusing a music producer in his Paris studio.

An official inquiry has been opened – the third such investigation in a week – into the officers’ behaviour. The latest incident comes after MPs in the French parliament voted to approve a new law increasing police powers.

The victim, identified only by his first name, Michel, was returning to his music studio in Paris’s 17th arrondissement last Saturday evening when police spotted he was not wearing a mask. Three officers, two in uniform and one in plain clothes, allegedly jumped from their car and pushed Michel through the front door of his property.


“Before I heard a word, I felt a hand pushing or pulling me, I didn’t know which. I didn’t know what was happening. I was shouting out for help,” Michel, the director of Black Gold Corp Studios, told the news website Loopsider.

The film shows police punching and kicking him, and hitting him over the head and body with a truncheon. As well as the physical blows, Michel, who said he was taken so much by surprise he was not even sure they were real police officers, said he was subjected to racist insults.

“I heard “dirty n****r. I heard it several times. They were hitting me with their truncheons. Over and over again,” he said.

After calling out for help to colleagues on a lower floor, and with blood pouring from his head, Michel and the others managed to push the three officers out of the front door.

The police then smashed a window and threw a teargas canister inside the property. After calling for reinforcements, they demanded Michel and the others came out, at gunpoint.

“I was afraid. I thought it was my last day … I kept saying, ‘I haven’t done anything’, and they kept shouting for me to get down on the ground.”

Once outside, police officers continued to beat Michel and the others.

“Suddenly someone shouted, ‘camera, camera’. It was someone filming from a window. As soon as the police heard this they stopped hitting us,” said one of the victims.

Michel was taken to the nearby police station and accused of insulting police and attempting to grab one of their guns.

Unknown to the officers, however, a camera inside the producer’s studio had captured the officers’ actions. Michel was held in custody for 48 hours then released without charge. The three officers are now being investigated for allegations of “violence by a public agent” and “making false statements”.

On Thursday, the interior minister, Gérald Darmanin, wrote on Twitter that an internal investigation was under way and that he had asked the Paris chief of police to suspend the offices concerned.

Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, tweeted: “Deeply shocked by this intolerable act. All the consequences must be drawn from these exceptionally serious facts. The rule of law is non-negotiable. All my support to Michel.”

Earlier this week, Darmanin expressed his confidence in the police after they came under fierce criticism for their use of teargas and truncheons to dismantle a migrant camp in central Paris.

Two official inquiries have been launched following the operation: one into a police officer filmed tripping up a migrant running away from officers causing him to fall heavily, and a second involving a police officer holding a journalist on the ground while appearing to threaten him with a truncheon.

The recent cases are just the latest examples of alleged French police brutality, often against non-white people.

In September, a French reporter who infiltrated the Paris police described a culture of racism and violence in which he claimed officers act with impunity. In his book, Flic (Cop), Valentin Gendrot said he had witnessed officers assaulting youngsters – many of them minors – on an almost daily basis.

In January a delivery driver, Cédric Chouviat, was filmed shouting “I’m suffocating” several times as police held him on the ground. Chouviat later died. In July, three police officers were put under official investigation for manslaughter.

Chouviat’s death came amid protests across France at the death of 24-year-old Adama Traoré in police custody in 2016.

Michel’s lawyer, Hafida El Ali, told AFP that her client had been detained for 48 hours on the basis of “lies by the police who had outrageously attacked him”.

Michel, who suffered multiple injuries to his face and body, including a head wound requiring stitches, was signed off work for six days and said he was still shocked by the attack. “If it hadn’t been for the camera I would be in prison today,” he told Loopsider.

“What did they want? If they’d wanted to check my [identity] papers they could have just asked. I have friends in the police. I like them a lot, they are not like these guys. And I refuse to believe any police officer could agree with guys like this.”

On Tuesday, French MPs approved a new security law that would place restrictions on identifying police officers involved in operations. Critics say article 24 of the new law, which makes it illegal to publish photographs or film footage of officers with “intent to harm”, is too open to interpretation by the police and could be a threat to press freedom.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Macron and Merz: Europe must arm itself in an unstable world
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Airlines Evaluate Flight Cancellations Amid Escalating US-Iran Tensions
Starmer Invites Innovators to Join Government Talent Scheme
UK Economy’s Strong Opening Quarter Shows Signs of Cooling
Harrods Seeks Court Order to Secure Al Fayed Estate for Victims
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
Labubu Doll Drives Pop Mart to Status as China’s Most Valuable Toy Maker
Global Coal Demand Defies Paris Accord Goals
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
Fordow: Deeply Buried Iranian Enrichment Site in U.S.–Israel Crosshairs
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize.
BBC Demands Perplexity AI Immediately Stop Using Its Content
Telegram Founder: I Will Leave My Fortune to Over 100 of My Children
Political Turmoil Resurfaces in Belgium Amid Economic Concerns
Fed policymakers divided on timing of interest rate cuts
Trump signals imminent agreement with Harvard University
Inheritance tax referendum alarms Swiss billionaire community
Japan cancels bilateral security meeting amid US defence demands
AI skeptic Emily Bender warns that ‘the emperor has no clothes’
Israel Confirms Assassination of Quds Force Commander in Tehran
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
FBI and Senate Investigate Allegations of Chinese Plot to Influence the 2020 Election in Biden’s Favor Using Fake U.S. Driver’s Licenses
Vietnam Emerges as Luxury Yacht Destination for Ultra‑Rich
Plans to Sell Dutch Embassy in Bangkok Face Local Opposition
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump's $5 Million 'Trump Card' Visa Program Draws Nearly 70,000 Applicants
DGCA Finds No Major Safety Concerns in Air India's Boeing 787 Fleet
Airlines Reroute Flights Amid Expanding Middle East Conflict Zones
Elon Musk's xAI Seeks $9.3 Billion in Funding Amid AI Expansion
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Taiwan Imposes Export Ban on Chips to Huawei and SMIC
Israel has just announced plans to strike Tehran again, and in response, Trump has urged people to evacuate
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Juncker Criticizes EU Inaction on Trump Tariffs
EU Proposes Ban on New Russian Gas Contracts
Analysts Warn Iran May Resort to Unconventional Warfare
×