An evening with Index
Published on
On 12 March 2026, at the Point Éphémère, Index held its first public event: a round table with Assa Traoré, Fatou Dieng, Raphaël Kempf, Ariane Lavrilleux, and Louis from the association Stop Aux Violences d’État, testimonies from victims of police violence and their relatives, and the launch of our campaign to bring together 500 Supporters. A look back at an evening that exceeded all our expectations.
On Thursday 12 March 2026, Index held its first public event. And it exceeded all our expectations.
First of all, you turned out in great numbers. For our first evening, we were not expecting a full house. Thank you to everyone in the audience for coming. Thank you to the Point Éphémère for hosting us in a spirit of solidarity, and to PDH for the live stream.
To the guests who did us the honour of joining this round table – Assa Traoré, Fatou Dieng, Raphaël Kempf, Ariane Lavrilleux, and Louis from the association Stop Aux Violences d’État: our most sincere thanks. Your contributions were as generous as they were illuminating. They helped us grasp the many degrees of violence, and the many political issues, at play in the question of police violence.
Finally, we were fortunate to be joined on stage by those our work is for, first and foremost: people directly affected by police violence, by state violence: Fatiha, the mother of Adam, killed by the police in Vénissieux. Nordine, who survived being shot at by officers of the BAC, the plainclothes anti-crime unit, in Stains. Fatiha and Christophe, daughter and son-in-law of Claude Jean-Pierre, killed by gendarmes in Guadeloupe. Christelle Vendeiro-Bico and her daughter, members of the family of Luis Bico, killed by the police in Châlette-sur-Loing. A huge thank you for coming, for speaking, and for sharing your testimonies, at once poignant and clear-sighted.
What was said last night will feed our thinking for a long time to come – and, no doubt, that of everyone in the audience. The recognition you collectively expressed yesterday gives our work its full meaning. We come away from this evening moved, but above all strengthened for what lies ahead.
Because we have no intention of stopping there. To keep investigating, revealing, and challenging the flawed expert reports and the liberties taken with the facts in police violence cases, we still need you.
This evening marked the launch of a new fundraising campaign for Index. Our goal: to reach 500 Supporters – that is, 500 people who commit to standing alongside us, over the long term, through a monthly donation.
Join Index’s first 500 supporters today, and take part in an urgent collective action in the public interest.
And if you cannot support us financially, help us in other ways: by sharing our calls for support, by talking about Index to those around you, by giving us strength in your own way.
We are in this together, so we are counting on you.
