A tightly packed crowd waits patiently outside a courtroom half an hour before the hearing begins at the Paris Judicial Court. Proceedings began the previous day, mainly involving participants arrested prior to the action – notably for carrying weapons. To display this content from YouTube, you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement.
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Limoges, 17 de octubre de 2026. - PASCAL LACHENAUD Special arrangements were put in place to cope with the mass influx of defendants; according to the authorities, 2,513 people were taken into police custody on October 17 alone. These involved the use of four – rather than the usual one or two – courtrooms to fast-track trials, as well as “additional screening” upon entry to the courthouse to prevent potential trouble, a police officer explained. Before the hearings began, a group of representatives from several lawyers' collectives delivered a message to the presiding judge, protesting the handling of the demonstrations and condemning “repression as the sole response”.
Read moreHow French police are harnessing social media to identify looters “Our role as lawyers is to reject any interference by a minister who might seek to steer the outcome of any ruling in the coming days,” said lawyer Arié Alimi. His indignation follows a call by Justice MinisterGérald Darmaninfor “utmost firmness” in response to the events of October 17 – a demand he made during his visit to the Lille Judicial Court, also on Tuesday. Earlier that morning Darmanin welcomed the imprisonment of 149 rioters and looters, adding that more than 800 people had been “brought before a court” to stand trial.
The first defendant enters the courtroom: Victor B, a young lanky figure wearing a t-shirt and black jeans, with a black eye on his left side. The 21-year-old audiovisual production student from Sartrouville in the Paris region is accused of being one of several hundred who helped erect barricades and threw paving stones and other projectiles at police while shouting “ACAB” – an acronym for “All Cops Are Bastards”. In their reports, the arresting officers described him as “very hostile and violent”.
The lobby of the Paris Judicial Court is shown on October 20. © David Rich, FRANCE 24 In a weak voice, Victor presents a very different account. He said he came to the demonstrations with his girlfriend, who he lost among the crowds before becoming startled when riot police charged. He said he fell to the ground and was struck on the head repeatedly by police with batons.
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