Overview
- On Tuesday a court of appeal in Gers convicted 32‑year‑old Yassine El Azizi of "violences volontaires ayant entraîné la mort sans intention de la donner" and sentenced him to 26 years in prison, down from a 30‑year term given at first instance.
- The victim, gendarme Mélanie Lemée, was fatally struck on July 4, 2020 when El Azizi’s car, which reached about 150 km/h, forced through a deployed roadblock near Port‑Sainte‑Marie and made a violent evasive swerve.
- Investigators say El Azizi was driving without a licence and under the influence of drugs at the time; police found 160 grams of cocaine in the vehicle but the instruction did not fully establish links to wider trafficking.
- The appeals jurors accepted the prosecution’s view that El Azizi intentionally tried to break the roadblock but did not find proof he meant to kill, while the avocat général had asked the court to confirm the original 30‑year sentence.
- Lemée’s death provoked strong public reaction, including a 2,000‑person march and the naming of a gendarmerie barracks in her honour, and her parents say they will continue efforts to preserve her memory as questions about the drug evidence remain.