French border police shoot, injure 2 migrants in Nice

By Shweta Desai

PARIS (AA) – The French border police shot and injured two migrants close to the Italian frontier, Franceinfo news reported on Wednesday.

According to the report, a car carrying migrants reportedly refused to halt for inspection during a joint Franco-Italian police operation at Sospel town in the Alpes-Maritime department around 3 a.m. on Wednesday morning.

The driver of the vehicle attempted to flee, leading the police on a 40-kilometer (25-mile) chase that ended in the Moulins district of Nice. A policeman shot at the passengers, injuring two of them.

The driver of the vehicle and three migrants escaped, another report in Nice-Matin news said.

One of the migrants injured in the head is in serious condition.

The public prosecutor of Nice, Xavier Bonhomme, has approached the General Inspectorate of the National Police to launch an investigation into the incident, according to the Nice-Matin report.

This is the third such incident in recent weeks where the police have opened fire on civilian vehicles for failing to comply with orders.

In April, a Paris policeman was charged with intentional homicide and willful violence for killing two passengers who refused to comply with orders.

One of the two passengers shot in a similar case earlier in June in Paris died.