France Faces Outcry Over Proposed Police Firearms Law After Son's Death

Issam El Khalfaoui, whose 19-year-old son Souhail was killed by police in 2021 in Marseille, states that a new draft law would make it 'impossible' to challenge the presumption of self-defence. The National Police (IGPN) reportedly lost the video evidence of the incident, witnesses were not interviewed, and the case file vanished from court, according to El Khalfaoui, who described the situation as a 'deeply systemic issue'.

France has one of the highest rates of fatal police shootings in Western Europe. In 2024, at least 69 individuals were killed by police or gendarmerie officers, an increase from 49 in 2023 and 50 in 2022. The current scrutiny on police tactics comes amid recent incidents during education protests, where a 15-year-old lost a hand from a police stun grenade, and a 14-year-old suffered a shattered jaw and teeth from a tear gas canister thrown at close range. The use of stun grenades has since been suspended, though authorities report 700 police injuries.

This unrest coincides with a controversial bill, which presumes police officers acted in self-defence when using firearms, heading for a Senate vote. El Khalfaoui, a co-founder of Stop State Violence (SAVE), has launched a petition against the bill, gathering over 700,000 signatures. Critics have labelled the measure a 'licence to kill', and it was approved by the National Assembly in July.

Protests organised by advocacy groups like SAVE, the Human Rights League (LDH), and Amnesty International, along with left-wing lawmakers, drew approximately 50,000 people across Paris, Marseille, Lyon, and Toulouse on September 20. The proposed law would shift the burden of proof to the complainant, presuming officers acted in self-defence when discharging weapons in the line of duty.

El Khalfaoui believes the law would further empower the police, citing a 'seizure of power by police unions' and a 'militarisation of the police' unparalleled in Europe. He also noted that resources are allocated to ensure police loyalty to the government.

Bruno Bartocetti, a regional representative for a police union, defended the El Khalfaoui case as an act of 'self-defence beyond any doubt', suggesting Souhail initiated a confrontation. The judicial case, initially closed in December 2021, was reopened following a complaint for 'obstruction of the discovery of truth' after the disappearance of surveillance videos. A new judge was appointed in 2025, and the investigation is ongoing.

Nathalie Tehio, president of the Human Rights League (LDH), expressed concerns that the bill 'enables police impunity', stating that if investigations cease, officers would no longer be held accountable. She highlighted France's position as a European leader in police killings.

A 2017 law allowing police to use firearms against non-compliant vehicles has reportedly led to a five-fold increase in fatal shootings. While this law had broad political support, including from left-wing politicians at the time, many now oppose the recent draft bill. Sebastien Roche, a researcher at the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), noted that successive governments under Emmanuel Macron have adopted far-right policies, particularly in his second term. With French presidential elections approaching, political parties are competing for votes, with the right attempting to appeal to far-right voters.

The article also touches upon the issue of discrimination in policing. The killing of 17-year-old Nahel Merzouk in 2023, a boy of Algerian descent, sparked nationwide riots. Roche stated that discrimination leads to increased traffic stops, disproportionately affecting people of colour. His studies in Bouches-du-Rhone indicate that non-white individuals are over 50 percent more likely to be stopped by police.

Omer Mas Capitolin recounted an incident in 2001 where police used a chokehold on him during an intervention. He later founded the Community House for Supportive Development (MCDS) to combat police violence and discrimination. In 2021, six NGOs, including MCDS, filed a class-action lawsuit against the French government for systemic racial discrimination in police identity checks. Mas Capitolin noted that these checks are often accompanied by accusations of non-compliance, contempt of authority, resistance, and excessive fines.

In October 2023, France's high court acknowledged racial profiling in police identity checks, a ruling Human Rights Watch (HRW) called 'historic'. However, the court did not mandate specific measures to end the practice. The French state was also previously condemned for 'gross negligence' in an identity check case and for racial profiling by the European Court of Human Rights. Despite these rulings, Mas Capitolin feels that 'everything is moving in the opposite direction', expressing concern over police being 'over-equipped and over-armed'.