Three high school students in Epinay-sur-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis, who had attacked the state in court for "facies checks" during a school trip, were dismissed their request, said Monday their lawyer . This is a "scandalous" decision, reacted Slim Ben Achour during a press conference. The first civil chamber of the Paris tribunal de grande instance considered that the check "carried out for a legitimate purpose of policing, without discrimination based on origin, can not be considered discriminatory", according to the decision consulted by AFP.
The three high school students, Ilyas, Mamadou and Zakaria, were checked in March 2017 at the Gare du Nord, on their return from a class trip to Brussels, in front of their classmates.
The court justifies these controls by the terrorist threat and the large drug trafficking in the sector. "Humiliated" by this check, which they thought was done because of their "appearance" only, they had lodged a complaint, supported by their teacher present that day, Elise Boscherel. But according to the court, "since all the students in the class are described by the teacher as being of foreign origin", the discrimination can not be founded.
The court also reiterated in its decision two arguments advanced by the state to justify the controls: the fact that the students were carrying a bulky bag of travel and the context, namely the terrorist threat and the drug trafficking important in the area. A "shortcut" strongly denounced by Ben Achour: "it creates a link at least implicit between young neighborhoods and drug traffickers." Contacted, the lawyer of the judicial officer of the state did not wish to react. The three high school students announced their intention to appeal.