French police charged over black man’s beating

Four French police officers were charged on Monday over the beating and racial abuse of a black music producer, a case that has ramped up pressure on the government of President Emmanuel Macron to give ground on a controversial security bill.

Outrage over the assault of Michel Zecler -- exposed in video footage published last week -- has become a new rallying cause for critics who accuse the police of institutionalised racism and brutality.

French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin is to face questions from a parliamentary commission later Monday over the new security law, which would restrict the right of the press to publish images of on-duty police.

Rallies against the law, which mobilised tens of thousands at the weekend, ended with angry clashes in Paris on Saturday that left dozens wounded, including a Syrian photographer who has worked for AFP.

A Paris investigating magistrate early Monday charged all four officers with intentional violence by a person holding public authority. Three were also charged with fabricating their police statement on the incident.

Two of the accused -- including the most senior officer, a police brigadier aged 44 -- will remain behind bars but the other two were freed on conditional release, a judicial source told AFP, asking not to be named.

On Sunday, Paris prosecutor Remy Heitz called for three of the officers to be also charged with using racial abuse.

He said the officers had acknowledged that their use of force was unjustified, but said they had claimed they had acted in "fear" and "panic" and had denied any use of racist abuse.

The four officers had a good service record before the incident, Heitz added.