A Nice police commissioner convicted of ordering the charge that seriously injured a 73-year-old protester during a Yellow Vest demonstration in 2019 will likely keep his job, after an appeal court confirmed his suspended sentence on Monday.
The Lyon court of appeal confirmed the sentence of six months in prison with a suspended term against Rabah Souchi, as in the original ruling. Souchi had ordered the charge that seriously injured Geneviève Legay during a Yellow Vest protest in Nice. The conviction was for complicity in violence by a person holding public authority.
The court also confirmed the exemption from recording the conviction in his criminal record, meaning he will likely be able to keep his post. He is currently deputy director of Nice's municipal police. His defence had argued he had only passed on an order given to him and erected him as a "scapegoat."
Legay, now 80, says she has lost her sense of smell, 35 percent of her hearing, and her balance remains impaired. She has not yet received any compensation for her injuries. A civil hearing will follow.
Source: France 3 Régions, ICI France Bleu Azur