At the start of the evening of Thursday, April 20, 2017, the police from the 32nd intervention company, a field unit, were deployed on the Champs-Élysées (Paris VIIIe).
A demonstration is on the way and the numbers have been pre-positioned on what is usually called “the most beautiful avenue in the world”.
Captain Xavier Jugelé remains in the vehicle with one of his colleagues.
At around 8:45 p.m., an Audi A4 parked at the level of the van.
"I see his assault rifle, a large weapon and I can hear gunshots direct," recalls Xavier Jugelé's team member, describing the attitude of the driver of the sedan, whose calm he also emphasizes.
"My feeling is that he wanted to attack us, he wanted to be a policeman," adds this sub-brigadier.
In all, six impacted holsters will be found.
Two bullets hit Xavier Jugelé in the forehead and neck.
The officer was 37 years old.
He leaves behind his companion, with whom he was in a civil partnership.
Two police officers are slightly injured in the shooting as well as a German tourist.
VIDEO.
"I suffer without hatred": the overwhelming tribute from Xavier Jugelé's companion
Mental instability
Four years after this attack perpetrated a few days before the first round of the presidential election, the trial opens this Monday before the specially composed Assize Court in Paris.
But an audience without its main character.
Karim Cheurfi, the author of this terrorist act, was shot dead in the wake of his gesture.
The investigation focused on how this 39-year-old resident of Chelles (Seine-et-Marne) acquired his Kalashnikov-type assault rifle.
Three men, aged 27 to 29, are being prosecuted for offenses against gun law.
The fourth accused, Nourredine A., 31, will be tried for a crime of terrorist association.
The prosecution accuses him of having learned of the disastrous intentions of Karim Cheurfi, which he fiercely contests.
Despite his death, investigators dug into the personality of the perpetrator of this attack. Karim Cheurfi presents a hybrid profile between delinquency, psychological disorders and radicalization. In 2001, when he was only 24 years old, he fired at a police officer after seizing his weapon while in police custody. Four years later, he will be sentenced to 15 years in the assizes.
Released in 2015, Karim Cheurfi does not calm down. In December 2016, in Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône), then in Montfermeil (Seine-Saint-Denis), he was noticed by worrying remarks. He expresses his intention to "kill cops", indicates wanting to obtain a weapon, mentions people known to be anti-terrorism ... The intelligence services are alerted but he does not appear on their radars. He was nevertheless placed in police custody by the PJ of Meaux (Seine-et-Marne) in February 2017. Islamic documentation was discovered at his home. The measure is lifted but the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor's Office (PNAT) decides to open an investigation for individual terrorist enterprise. We are in March 2017, a month and a half before the attack on the Champs-Élysées.
"During an attack, there are always several people who help provide support to the perpetrator"
Among his relatives, only his father indicates having perceived his radicalization, remembering in particular having heard him speak of death as a martyr. A week after the attack, the latter had publicly rejoiced at the act committed by his son, which earned him a sentence of 10 months in prison pronounced in January 2018. The other members of his family heard instead underlined his mental instability, that feeling he gave of always being absent, focused on his two passions: video games and fishing. But in his neighborhood, his aversion to the police was clearly known. When he shot Xavier Jugelé, Karim Cheurfi carried a confused text with him referring to Daesh. The terrorist organization had also claimed responsibility for its action but was mistaken about its identity.It is in particular behind bars that he would have radicalized.
The investigation made it possible to trace the circuit of the Kalashnikov which would have passed through several hands before falling to Nourredine A. who would then have sold it to her neighborhood friend. “During an attack, there are always several people who help to support the perpetrator. This trial is there to recall the importance of this chain, recalls Me Thibault de Montbrial, the lawyer for the parents and companion of Xavier Jugelé. We expect the Assize Court to say that the last link in this chain could not ignore Karim Cheurfi's terrorist project, even if he did not know its exact nature. "
Me Clarisse Serre, Nourredine A.'s lawyer, disagrees with this presentation and protests against the charges against her client. “The death of this policeman is obviously atrocious, recalls the criminal lawyer. But we formally contest the terrorist qualification. It is incomprehensible. The verdict is expected on June 18.