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Filing a complaint, voluntary interview and trial

Key points

  • Violence: medical certificate with ITT, photos, witnesses, videos.
  • Complaint: any police station must take it, or send it by registered letter to the prosecutor.
  • The Défenseur des droits and the IGPN or IGGN complement a complaint, they don't replace it.
  • Voluntary interview: never go without first consulting a lawyer.
  • Fast-track trial: you can refuse to be tried the same day; relatives gather the supporting documents quickly.

Disclaimer

General information about French law, not legal advice. Contact a lawyer or a legal team before any police interview or court hearing.

Where to start?

Flowchart: after police violence

  1. Care → see a doctor as soon as possible and ask for a descriptive certificate with ITT.1
  2. Evidence → photos of the injuries with a ruler, unwashed clothes, witnesses' contact details, copies of videos off the phone.2
  3. Filing a complaint: where?
    • Police or gendarmerie station → they are obliged to take your complaint, wherever the events happened.3
    • Afraid of a refusal or pressure → registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt to the public prosecutor.3
  4. On top of the complaint (not instead of it) → Défenseur des droits4 and IGPN or IGGN.5
  5. Get support → legal team, lawyer, and the LDH guide.

After violence: document injuries and file a complaint

  1. Detailed medical certificate: see a doctor (GP, hospital A&E or forensic medical unit) as soon as possible. Ask for a detailed description of every injury (dimensions, typical pattern), its psychological impact and the number of days of ITT (total incapacity for work, even if you are not employed).1
  2. Physical evidence: photograph your injuries with a ruler for scale, photograph and keep cooled munition debris (LBD rubber bullets, GENL pellets, red GM2L or black GL-304 fragments, batch markings — see "Police weapons: effects, injuries and debris"), keep stained or torn clothes (unwashed), and gather witness contact details and videos.126
  3. File a criminal complaint (plainte):
    • Every police or gendarmerie station is legally required to take your complaint, regardless of where the events took place (refusing to take a complaint is unlawful).3
    • To avoid being turned away or pressured at the desk: send your complaint directly by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt (LRAR) to the public prosecutor (procureur de la République) at the court of the place where the events occurred (dated and signed account, copy of the medical certificate and evidence).31
  4. Additional reports (do not replace a criminal complaint):
    • Refer the case to the Défenseur des droits (free, independent investigation into law-enforcement ethics).4
    • Report the facts to the IGPN (police) or IGGN (gendarmerie).5
  5. Guides and support: LDH — What to do about police violence? (in French) and Flagrant déni (legal guide and victim support).

Summoned for a "voluntary interview" (audition libre)

If the police or gendarmerie summon you after a protest to be questioned "freely" (outside custody):7

  • The written summons must state the alleged offence, your right to be assisted by a lawyer (free under legal aid depending on your income) and your right to leave the premises at any time.7
  • Never attend a voluntary interview without consulting a lawyer or legal team beforehand: you can ask to reschedule the appointment so you have time to prepare your defence.78
  • During the interview, you have the right to remain silent and to re-read the record before deciding whether to sign it.7

Fast-track trial and court: documents to gather urgently

If someone close to you is brought before the court at the end of custody for a fast-track trial (comparution immédiate), the court rules the same day (or decides on pre-trial detention if the trial is adjourned).9

Relatives must gather immediately and hand to the duty lawyer the guarantees of representation (garanties de représentation) (material proof that the person is not a flight risk and will attend hearings). They weigh in avoiding pre-trial detention or obtaining release: the court can order pre-trial detention, notably to keep the person available to the justice system.1011 The list below comes from lawyers' practice, not from a legal text:

  • Identity: copy of ID card, passport or residence permit.
  • Address: lease, latest rent receipt or utility bill (electricity, phone); if hosted by someone else: signed and dated hosting certificate (attestation d'hébergement) + copy of the host's ID + host's proof of address.
  • Work or studies: employment contract, last 3 payslips, job offer, school enrolment certificate or student card.
  • Family and health: family record book (livret de famille), current medical prescriptions, proof of medical or psychological care.
  • If needed: CAF, RSA or France Travail (formerly Pôle emploi) certificate, and proof of taking part in associations or cultural activities.

You can also hand them in advance to a trusted contact, who will pass them to the lawyer (Before you leave).

Before the court, the defendant always has the right to refuse to be tried that same day and to request an adjournment: the case is then sent to a hearing held 4 to 10 weeks later (the defendant may waive the 4-week minimum), to prepare their defence with their lawyer.912

Lawyers, legal aid and solidarity funds in the directory

After the case: getting files erased

If the case is dropped, you are acquitted or get a dismissal (non-lieu), your data may remain in the TAJ (criminal records processing file) and your DNA profile in the FNAEG. You can ask the prosecutor to erase it or to add a mention to it.1314 The steps and appeals are in DNA, fingerprints and photos.

In one of these situations? injured · a high-school student · summoned to court · gagged or under pressure (censorship, summons, formal notice)

Sources

Each note links to the source of the information. Most sources are in French. Laws change: check the date of the source and, if in doubt, ask a lawyer.

  1. LDH — Que faire face aux violences policières ? (April 2026) · AI-sourced on · awaiting human check ↩↩↩↩

  2. WITNESS — Video as Evidence Field Guide · AI-sourced on · awaiting human check ↩↩

  3. Service-Public — Filing a criminal complaint · AI-sourced on · awaiting human check ↩↩↩↩

  4. Défenseur des droits · AI-sourced on · awaiting human check ↩↩

  5. Gendarmerie — Plateforme de signalement de l'IGGN · AI-sourced on · awaiting human check ↩↩

  6. Désarmons-les — Overview of policing weapons (in French) · AI-sourced on · awaiting human check ↩

  7. Service-Public — Voluntary police interview (audition libre) · AI-sourced on · awaiting human check ↩↩↩↩

  8. Syndicat de la magistrature — Guide du manifestant arrêté · AI-sourced on · awaiting human check ↩

  9. Service-Public — Comparution immédiate · AI-sourced on · awaiting human check ↩↩

  10. Légifrance — Code of Criminal Procedure, art. 397-3 (judicial supervision and pre-trial detention in fast-track trial; in French) · AI-sourced on · awaiting human check ↩

  11. Légifrance — Code of Criminal Procedure, art. 144 (aims of pre-trial detention; in French) · AI-sourced on · awaiting human check ↩

  12. Légifrance — Code of Criminal Procedure, art. 397-1 (adjournment: 4 to 10 weeks; in French) · AI-sourced on · awaiting human check ↩

  13. Légifrance — Code of Criminal Procedure, art. 230-8 (erasure and rectification, prosecutor's control; in French) · AI-sourced on · awaiting human check ↩

  14. Légifrance — Code of Criminal Procedure, art. 706-54-1 (erasure from the DNA file; in French) · AI-sourced on · awaiting human check ↩

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