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Protest in memory of Steve Maia Caniço, July 30, 2019 in Bordeaux. MEHDI FEDOUACH / AFP

In France, several procedures are underway to try to shed light on the circumstances that led to the death of Steve Maia Caniço, who died at the Nantes Music Festival and whose body was found in the Loire on 29 July.

"Where is Steve? Since June 21, the slogan has been seen and heard everywhere in France. The body of this extracurricular animator of 24 years was found Monday, July 29 in the Loire, a kilometer from where he had fallen. Steve Maia Caniço was missing since he and his friends went to a concert on the riverbank in Nantes on the occasion of the Fête de la musique, to which a controversial intervention by the police had put an end.

Scuffles broke out between partygoers and policemen. Many participants claimed to have been blinded by a tear gas cloud, some fell in the river. Fourteen people were rescued by the rescue during the night. Steve, he has not given any sign of life since that night. According to his relatives, he did not know how to swim.

The General Inspectorate of the National Police (IGPN) has been commissioned to investigate in order to highlight the actions of the police. The report presented by Prime Minister Philippe Tuesday indicates that no link was established between the police intervention and the disappearance of Steve. It is also stipulated that the police intervention that evening was " justified " and did not appear " disproportionate ".

Seizure of the General Inspectorate of Administration

Many questions remain unresolved. To provide answers, the IGPN refers to the judicial inquiry that is ongoing. Believing that the course of this evening of June 21 and the sequence of events remain confused, Édouard Philippe announced the seizure of the Inspectorate General of Administration (IGA) to shed light on these gray areas.

Attached to the Ministry of the Interior for which it has a "superior control" mission, the IGA has a wide range of actions such as control, advice and evaluation of public policies in various fields. It also looks at the personnel, services and institutions that come under the Ministry of the Interior, but also at the services and organizations over which the prefects exercise control. Sixty senior officials make up more than 100 reports each year. The one about the death of Steve Maia Caniço is expected for the beginning of September.

The IGA will focus on the purely administrative aspect of the case, and not on the judicial aspect. It must focus on understanding how the concert on the banks of the Loire was set up by the public authorities and its private organizers. How was the chain of command organized between the Nantes city hall and the Loire Atlantique prefecture? What were the instructions given during the police operation during the music festival? These are some questions that the Inspectorate General of Administration will have to answer in order to establish the responsibilities of each, both on the preparation of this evening and the security devices in place.

A judicial inquiry against X for manslaughter has also been opened by the parquet of Nantes. Two magistrates will be seized to look for possible criminal responsibilities after the disappearance of Steve Maia Caniço. They will be based on the administrative surveys conducted by IGPN and IGA. Eighty-nine participants in the concert of 21 June lodged a complaint against X for endangering the lives of others and intentional violence by persons in charge of public authority.

The main dates of the case

  • June 21, 2019: Festival of music on the banks of the Loire in Nantes. Steve participates.
  • June 22: Between 4 and 5 am, Steve falls in the Loire.
  • June 23: Report of the disappearance of Steve. Opening of an investigation, beginning of the research of the young man of 24 years.
  • June 24: Launch of a call for witnesses by investigators, further research.
  • July 29: Discovery of a body in the Loire, a kilometer from the place of the evening.
  • July 30: Identification of the body. Presentation of the IGPN report, input from the IGA.
    Opening of a judicial investigation for "manslaughter against X" by the parquet of Nantes
  • Early September 2019 : Presentation of the IGA report