The trial of a woman accused of the murder of 12-year-old Lola Daviet in 2022 begins on Friday, a case that shocked France and stirred political controversy over immigration. Dahbia Benkired, 27, faces charges of murder, aggravated rape, torture and an act of barbarity.
Lola's body was discovered stuffed in a plastic trunk left on the street near her home in the 19th arrondissement of Paris. She had walked home from school on 14 October 2022 and was captured on CCTV meeting Benkired, who was staying at her sister's flat in the same building, just after 3pm.
Benkired, an Algerian national who had no legal right to remain in France and had been ordered to leave the country two months prior, gave confused accounts of events. Psychiatrists deemed her fit to stand trial, and she has been held in Fresnes prison since her arrest.
The case prompted far-right politicians, including Marine Le Pen's Rassemblement National, to link the killing to France's immigration policies. Éric Pauget of Les Républicains claimed Lola's death was a result of immigration weakness, prompting then justice minister Éric Dupond-Moretti to accuse them of exploiting the tragedy for political gain.
Benkired faces a life sentence if convicted. The trial is expected to run until next Friday, when a verdict is anticipated.
