“435-1 killed me”: SAVE takes the fight against police violence into public space
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“435-1 killed me” is a touring exhibition organised by the association SAVE, blending art and activism. It denounces police violence and the impunity linked to the legal provision that loosened the conditions under which officers may fire at moving vehicles.
The association SAVE (Stop aux Violences d’État, “Stop State Violence”) launched its touring exhibition “435-1 killed me” this weekend. Conceived as an educational trail, it combines oil paintings, photographs, debates, and performances to pay tribute to the victims of state violence, raise awareness of Article L. 435-1 of the Internal Security Code, and denounce the police impunity surrounding it.
This provision, adopted in 2017, broadened the right of National Police officers to use their weapons in cases of refusal to stop for the police (refus d’obtempérer). According to SAVE, 37 people have been killed in such cases since it took effect – a situation the association denounces as a “licence to kill”.
SAVE was founded in 2023 by relatives of victims, including its president Issam El Khalfaoui, father of Souheil, who was killed by the police in Marseille in 2021 at the age of 19. For him, the campaign’s ambition is to “bring together artists, researchers, and political leaders around a common project, capable of reaching audiences who would not spontaneously have taken an interest in the issue.”
At the Saint-Denis stop, the round tables organised by SAVE brought together elected officials, researchers, and activists to debate the disarmament of the police and the criminalisation of non-white bodies. After Île-de-France, the tour will continue in Marseille on 26 April, Rennes on 13 June, and Lille on 27 June.