RENNES, France -- A French court on Monday acquitted two police officers accused of contributing to the deaths of two teenagers in a blighted Paris suburb a decade ago.
The deaths of 15-year-old Bouna Traore and 17-year-old Zyed Benna prompted weeks of riots across France in 2005, exposing anger and resentment in neglected, crime-ridden suburban housing projects populated by minority groups.
Police were chasing the two boys, who entered a power substation in the Paris suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois to hide and were electrocuted. A third boy survived the 20,000-volt electric shock with severe burns.
On Monday, the court in the western city of Rennes ruled that officers Sebastien Gaillemin and Stephanie Klein weren't responsible. Neither had a "clear awareness of grave and imminent danger," as is required for a conviction under French law, said Judge Nicolas Leger.
Moments after the verdict was read, a woman rose in the back of the courtroom and shouted: "The police above the law, as always."
"You are responsible," Zyed's brother Adel shouted at the two police officers.
"I have a sense of impunity, of injustice and disgust," said Bouna's brother Gaye.
Activists called for protests at courthouses across the country. A representative for the boys' families and the mayor of Clichy-sous-Bois urged protesters to remain calm.
The mood in the streets of Clichy-sous-Bois on Monday afternoon was subdued. Residents expressed little surprise at the verdict.
About 200 activists and others gathered Monday evening to protest at the courthouse in Bobigny, near the boys' hometown. About 25 riot police officers stood guard as protesters hung banners reading "Let's disarm the police."
"The message this verdict sends is that these two kids did not deserve help because they were black and Arab," said protester Issa Diara, of a group called Brigade Antinegrophobie, which set up in the Paris area after the 2005 riots to combat discrimination against blacks. "By acquitting these police officers it makes people believe that they did the right thing in not helping."
He alluded to anger over black men being killed by police or dying in police custody in U.S. cities in recent months. "In France, the practices of racism are more insidious -- France has never been able to admit to racism," he said.
The two French officers faced up to five years in prison had they been convicted of failing to assist someone in danger.
Authorities say Gaillemin, 41, was chasing the three teenagers on Oct. 27, 2005, and saw them head toward the power station, but he did not help them avoid the danger or call emergency services. Instead, he said into his police radio: "If they enter the site, I wouldn't pay much for their skins."
Klein, 38, was a police intern coordinating radio communications and heard the remark.
The victims' families have said the teens could have been saved by the officers, who insisted they were not to blame.
A lawyer for the police, Daniel Merchat, said there was not enough evidence of wrongdoing.
"It's a ruling that corresponds to the factual and judicial reality of the case," he said.
During the proceedings in March, the presiding judge said the national police as a whole were not on trial. Even so, lawyers for both sides have emphasized the verdict's wider significance.
The 2005 deaths and ensuing riots cast a harsh light on the fate of housing projects populated by France's poor, many with roots in former colonies in Africa. Over three weeks of rioting, thousands of vehicles were torched, public buildings were burned and thousands of people were arrested. A state of emergency was declared.
The 10-year wait for a trial in the 2005 deaths made Monday's acquittal even more painful for the boys' families and activists.
Prosecutors repeatedly declined to bring the case against the officers, but the nation's highest court ordered a trial held in a different jurisdiction in western France. Even after it reached trial, the prosecutor in Rennes continued to argue that there wasn't enough evidence against the police, and ultimately requested acquittal.
Jean-Pierre Mignard, a lawyer for the families, said the verdict was proof of a "legal apartheid" in France.
Another lawyer for the families, Emmanuel Tordjman, said they will appeal the decision in hopes of getting civil damages. "The families are destroyed. They have a great sense of injustice ... as if Zyed and Bouna died for nothing," he said.
Clichy-sous-Bois Mayor Olivier Klein said, "The trial was necessary, but 10 years is much too long."
Information for this article was contributed by Angela Charlton of The Associated Press.
A Section on 05/19/2015