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Robbers on trial in France for death of local police woman Robbers on trial in France for death of local police woman
(about 4 hours later)
PARIS — Five suspected robbers face up to life in prison for taking part in a high-speed highway chase with police in which France’s first female local police officer was killed in 2010, sparking a wave of indignation and a debate on the duties of the country’s local police. PARIS — Five suspected robbers face up to life in prison for taking part in a high-speed highway chase with police in which France’s first female local police officer was killed in 2010, raising a wave of indignation and a debate on the duties of the country’s local police.
A total of eight defendants, aged 32 to 58, appeared in a Paris court Tuesday for the first day of a high-profile, seven-week trial in which more than 100 witnesses and dozens of plaintiffs and experts are expected to testify. Some 60 reporters attended the opening inside a large crowded courtroom.A total of eight defendants, aged 32 to 58, appeared in a Paris court Tuesday for the first day of a high-profile, seven-week trial in which more than 100 witnesses and dozens of plaintiffs and experts are expected to testify. Some 60 reporters attended the opening inside a large crowded courtroom.
In May 2010, then-President Nicolas Sarkozy attended the funeral of local police officer Aurelie Fouquet, 26, the mother of a baby boy. Another suspect was never found and is tried in absentia, while yet another has been arrested in Algeria and is the subject of separate proceedings.
Three of the suspects, including the one tried in absentia, are accused of murdering local police woman Aurelie Fouquet, 26, a mother of a 14-month baby boy. The six others appearing in court Tuesday are charged with taking part or helping in the failed hold-up.
The first day of the hearing was dedicated entirely to a draw of the six jurors, a call of the 103 witnesses and a long account of the facts, with no parties speaking. The jury will deliver the verdict at the last day of the trial, set for April 15.
In May 2010, while a gang of 10 robbers divided into several groups was about to attack an armored cash-transportation van, one of their vehicles was spotted by a police car. During the 10-kilometer (6.2-mile) highway chase in morning rush hour, one of the robbers opened the back door of their van, fired at police officers with a submachine gun, unloaded the contents of tear gas canisters and fire extinguishers on their pursuers and threw the empty projectiles at the police car, according to court documents.
Several police officers and people driving their personal cars were wounded. The van used by four of the robbers left the highway and had an accident. The attackers wearing balaclavas, gloves, bulletproofs vests and battledresses got out of the van and immediately fired multiple shots at a local police car that had just arrived, fatally wounding Fouquet.
French local police officers used to be unarmed, but after this incidence, the attack against Charlie Hebdo, and the murder of another female local police officer by Amedy Coulibaly the following day in January 2015, the government announced the state would provide local police officers with thousands of guns upon request. Some unofficial figures show that roughly a quarter of the 20,000 local police officers in France are now equipped with a firearm.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.