It is a sentence which, until today, had rarely been imposed. A 23-year-old young man was sentenced this Friday to six months in prison and 105 hours of community service for having filmed the urban riots that occurred in Beaune (Côte-d’Or) last July.
During the nights of June 30 to July 2, the young man filmed and broadcast on the social network TikTok the riots which shook the town of Beaune after the death of Nahel in Nanterre (Hauts-de-Seine). His video had nearly 11,000 views on the platform.
“To get likes”
The young man was tried at the end of September for “aggravated violence” by the Dijon criminal court. During the hearing, he explained that he had filmed and posted the images to “have likes ”, and thus increase its notoriety, reports the daily The Public Good. He also explained that he had only filmed “burning trash cans, damage, no attacks on police officers”.
The riots in Beaune notably targeted businesses, but also the police station which came under mortar fire, and officers were injured. “These videos are a way of glorifying scenes of violence, and this can lead to other scenes of violence,” underlined in court Me Jean-Philippe Morel, the lawyer for four police officers, who are constituted civil parties.
The law prohibits broadcasting scenes of violence on social networks, but in practice, this offense is rarely prosecuted. In addition to the suspended prison sentence, the court ordered the confiscation of his cell phone, as well as the payment of compensation for moral damage. The young man will have to pay 250 euros to a police officer and 150 euros to three other police officers.