The list of injuries sustained by 22-year-old Hedi R. on the night of July 1 in Marseille occupies almost three of the 15 pages of an indictment that is as neutral as it is uncompromising. The document, which Le Monde had access to, was drawn up by the prosecutor's office in Aix-en-Provence. One police officer implicated in the violent incident is requesting that his detention be ended, while the other is requesting that his judicial supervision be lifted. The prosecutor is opposed to both requests. The court is expected to announce its decision at around 4 pm.

When he arrived in the emergency room at La Timone Hospital at 2:15 am, Hedi R. was in bad shape, with severe head trauma, a facial fracture, hematomas, various abrasions and hemorrhages. Intubated and sedated, he underwent emergency surgery "to perform a decompressive craniectomy" –in other words, removing part of his skull to relieve the pressure caused by a hemorrhage, likely caused by a rubber bullet. Since then, he celebrated his 22^nd birthday on July 9 with half his skull missing. After several interviews, the pictures of his face have been widely shared. His mind is also affected. Two medical certificates, written on July 5 and 6, 2023 by doctors in the intensive care unit, add "acute stress syndrome" to this inventory of physical injuries.

What happened on the night of July 1, when Marseille was ablaze? There were thousands of rioters, and nearly 500 businesses were destroyed or looted during the violent clashes that followed the death of 17-year-old Nahel M., who was shot dead by the police after refusing to comply with orders during a traffic stop in Nanterre, west of Paris, on June 27. In two 15-page documents, based on witness statements, interviews and video surveillance footage, investigators have retraced the events that led to the indictment of four police officers from the city's anti-crime brigades (BAC) on charges of the intentional use of violence by public officials, one of whom has been detained since July 21.

The friend accompanying Hedi, Lilian P., was the first to give an account of the evening, in the late afternoon of July 2. The young man, a hairdresser who does extra work in the restaurant industry, explained his presence by stating that he was "curious" about what was happening in Marseille and that he often went out with Hedi in the evening. Around 2 am, Hedi called him: Did he want to join him to head into Marseille? Lilian agreed, took his car and parked it "near La Joliette" to meet his friend at the Vieux-Port. A few minutes later, as they were walking down the street, they passed five men at the corner of Rue d'Italie and Rue du Commandant-Imhaus, in the city's 6^th arrondissement. He said that at that moment, he heard a voice call out to them, asking, "Where are you going?"

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