French MP’s Assault Trial Postponed to April 2022 Over Video Evidence Request

The trial of MP M’jid El Guerrab did not take place on October 14 before the Paris Tribunal de Grande Instance due to a request for access to video surveillance tapes. A request made by the lawyer of the former LREM elected representative. The court therefore decided to postpone the hearing to April 7, 2022.

Since 2016, there had been a dispute between Boris Faure, PS first secretary of the Federation of French citizens abroad, and M’jid El Guerrab. The origin of this dispute was the departure at the end of 2016 of the PS of the elected representative of the 9th constituency of French citizens abroad, for La République en Marche of Emmanuel Macron. Subsequently, the rivalry between the two politicians intensified. On August 30, 2017, they met by chance in the street, exchanged words. A fight broke out between them.

Boris Faure filed a complaint for "intentional violence" against M’jid El Guerrab after the altercation. Since then, the latter has been prosecuted for having "intentionally committed violence resulting in total incapacity for work of more than eight days", and this, with "a weapon by destination", in this case a motorcycle helmet, which he would have used to hit him. Indicted, he faces up to three years in prison and a fine of 45,000 euros.

Reporting the facts, the elected representative of the 9th constituency of French citizens abroad claims to have been firmly seized by the hand by Boris Faure. The latter claims to have had a gesture of appeasement to avoid any violence. M’jid El Guerrab "has always wanted to pass for a victim of aggression, threats and racist insults that never took place," assures Patrick Klugman, Boris Faure’s lawyer to Ouest France.