A French policeman has been charged with voluntary manslaughter after shooting dead a driver and car passenger who allegedly attempted to evade police in central Paris on Sunday night, not far from where French President Emmanuel Macron celebrated his re-election.
The 24-year-old officer used his assault rifle in an effort to stop the car as it hurtled towards his colleagues on the picturesque Pont Neuf bridge. He later claimed that he acted in self-defence.
He was immediately taken in for questioning by the police's internal investigations agency, standard procedure in the wake of any use of firearms by officers. Prosecutors will now have to decide if the officer had responded with excessive force.
Around a dozen rounds were fired, with "five or six shots hitting the occupants," according to a police report of the incident.
The officer was heard by a judge who decided on Wednesday to charge him with voluntary manslaughter for the death of the driver.
Lesser charges of "wilful violence by a person in authority" were issued over the death of the front-seat passenger, and the wounding of a person in the back seat.
The officer was ordered to turn in his gun and prohibited from any police duties involving contact with the public.
Police trade union slams charges
The decision was slammed as "unacceptable" by the Alliance police officers' union, which called for a demonstration to defend "the presumption of legitimate defence" in front of the historic Paris courthouse on Monday.
The police report said the car was parked, facing the wrong way with its hazard lights flashing on the banks of the Seine, prompting the five-person foot patrol to investigate.
When confronted, the driver suddenly sped off towards one officer who managed to jump out of the way.
The two occupants who were killed had extensive criminal records, including for drug charges.
