Should we talk about police violence?
Les Procès du siècle - Shared struggles
With Slim Ben Achour (lawyer) and David Dufresne (journalist, film-maker, writer)
Moderator: Nora Hamadi
With the participation of Mireille Jacotin, chief curator of heritage, head of the Public Life Department at Mucem.
On June 27, 2023, the death of Nahel Merzouk, a 17-year-old teenager shot dead by a police officer in Nanterre after refusing to comply, once again highlighted the increase in deaths and serious injuries during law enforcement operations. It also calls into question the term “police violence” versus “police blunders”. How legitimate is the use of violence by the police? How can we rebuild trust between the police and the public?
The episode in newspaper and podcast
Slim Ben Achour (lawyer)
Slim Ben Achour is a lawyer at the Paris Court of Appeal, specializing in equality and non-discrimination issues, and a member of the Syndicat des Avocats de France. A pioneer in the fight against identity checks, in June 2026 he had the French government condemned for “gross negligence” in the case of facial checks at the Gare du Nord.
David Dufresne (journalist, director, writer)
David Dufresne © Alexandre Lard
Long-time reporter for Libération and member of the founding team of the investigative website Mediapart, David Dufresne is a writer and director. His first feature film, Un pays qui se tient sage, was supported by the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes 2020. In 2020, he created the online counter-media Au Poste. After a dozen investigative books, including On ne vit qu’une heure, une virée avec Jacques Brel (Le Seuil, 2018) and Tarnac, magasin général (Calmann Lévy, Prix des Assises du Journalisme 2012), he published two novels: Dernière sommation (Grasset, 2019) and 19h59 (Grasset, 2022). In 2019, he received the Grand Prix du Journalisme 2019 at the Assises internationales du Journalisme for his Allo Place Beauvau project on police violence, work recognized by the UN, the Council of Europe and the European Parliament. He won the World Press Photo 2011 non-linear work category for his webdocumentary Prison Valley (with Philippe Brault), which opened the doors to the MIT Open Documentary lab, where he was welcomed in residence.
Nora Hamadi (journalist)
Nora Hamadi © Arte
Nora Hamadi, journalist, has been producer of the program “Sous les radars” on France Culture and the face of ARTE’s European programs since September 2021. Since 2015, she has been co-editor-in-chief with Raphal Yem of Fumigène, littérature de rue, a magazine dedicated to current affairs as seen from working-class neighborhoods, and leads a number of popular media and information education workshops in schools, social centers and neighborhood centers. She chairs the Collectif ŒIL, and ZEP, Zone d’expression prioritaire, two associations dedicated to bringing the voices and stories of the invisible into the public arena.
With Slim Ben Achour (lawyer) and David Dufresne (journalist, film-maker, writer)
Moderator: Nora Hamadi
With the participation of Mireille Jacotin, chief curator of heritage, head of the Public Life Department at Mucem.
On June 27, 2023, the death of Nahel Merzouk, a 17-year-old teenager shot dead by a police officer in Nanterre after refusing to comply, once again highlighted the increase in deaths and serious injuries during law enforcement operations. It also calls into question the term “police violence” versus “police blunders”. How legitimate is the use of violence by the police? How can we rebuild trust between the police and the public?
The episode in newspaper and podcast
Slim Ben Achour (lawyer)
Slim Ben Achour is a lawyer at the Paris Court of Appeal, specializing in equality and non-discrimination issues, and a member of the Syndicat des Avocats de France. A pioneer in the fight against identity checks, in June 2026 he had the French government condemned for “gross negligence” in the case of facial checks at the Gare du Nord.
David Dufresne (journalist, director, writer)
David Dufresne © Alexandre Lard
Long-time reporter for Libération and member of the founding team of the investigative website Mediapart, David Dufresne is a writer and director. His first feature film, Un pays qui se tient sage, was supported by the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes 2020. In 2020, he created the online counter-media Au Poste. After a dozen investigative books, including On ne vit qu’une heure, une virée avec Jacques Brel (Le Seuil, 2018) and Tarnac, magasin général (Calmann Lévy, Prix des Assises du Journalisme 2012), he published two novels: Dernière sommation (Grasset, 2019) and 19h59 (Grasset, 2022). In 2019, he received the Grand Prix du Journalisme 2019 at the Assises internationales du Journalisme for his Allo Place Beauvau project on police violence, work recognized by the UN, the Council of Europe and the European Parliament. He won the World Press Photo 2011 non-linear work category for his webdocumentary Prison Valley (with Philippe Brault), which opened the doors to the MIT Open Documentary lab, where he was welcomed in residence.
Nora Hamadi (journalist)
Nora Hamadi © Arte
Nora Hamadi, journalist, has been producer of the program “Sous les radars” on France Culture and the face of ARTE’s European programs since September 2021. Since 2015, she has been co-editor-in-chief with Raphal Yem of Fumigène, littérature de rue, a magazine dedicated to current affairs as seen from working-class neighborhoods, and leads a number of popular media and information education workshops in schools, social centers and neighborhood centers. She chairs the Collectif ŒIL, and ZEP, Zone d’expression prioritaire, two associations dedicated to bringing the voices and stories of the invisible into the public arena.