French prosecutors yesterday on Saturday opened an investigation into the shooting of a soccer fan by a police officer during an outbreak of soccer hooliganism.
The plainclothes police officer, Antoine Granomort, was in custody after shooting dead a 24-year-old fan and wounding another, apparently with the same bullet, during an attack by Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) fans on a supporter of an Israeli club, Hapoel Tel Aviv, after Thursday night's Uefa Cup match in Paris.
The PSG fans shouted anti-semitic and racial epithets, and Granomort, a black officer, said he was trying to protect himself and a Hapoel fan described by officials as a French Jew.
Paris prosecutor Jean-Claude Marin opened the judicial inquiry. Marin wants Granomort to testify as a legally represented witness -- a status in French law between a witness and a suspect.
French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy announced that new legislation would be fast-tracked to tackle racist groups of fans.
He wants hooligans banned from matches and has championed anti-terrorism legislation that will boost video surveillance at sports grounds.
"We want no more racists in the stadium, no more Nazi salutes, no more monkey calls when a player of color touches the ball," Sarkozy said.
Socialist presidential candidate Segolene Royal proposed shutting down the stands where the gangs congregate.
"The club must accept its responsibility and shut down the stands where these unacceptable bursts of violence, racism and anti-semitism occur," she said.
The PSG fans had gone on the rampage on Thursday night after having watched their soccer team sink to a 4-2 defeat.
Jewish fans were targeted by groups of youths yelling anti-semitic slogans and performing Nazi salutes. Yanniv Hazout, 23, was chased and separated from his friends. At the time, Granomort was guarding police vehicles and stepped in, ordering Hazout to take cover behind him.
Perhaps uncertain as to whether Granomort was a policeman because he was in civilian clothing, the youths attacked. Granomort was overpowered and fired his gun.
Granomort and Hazout were able to escape to a McDonald's, where staff quickly locked the doors behind them. PSG fans then laid siege to the building, smashing windows and continuing to chant racist slogans before police backup eventually arrived on the scene.
"The police officer was punched and kicked and knocked to the floor before reacting with his gun," spokesman Jean-Claude Marin said. "I think we can safely believe he acted in self-defense, although of course we will fully investigate the circumstances."
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese