Maxime Leroy case: VTC colleagues challenge stalled probe as 2027 murder trial set | OneFootball

The VTC driver who fatally stabbed Nantes fan Maxime Leroy on two December 2023 will be tried for murder between 23 and 26 March 2027. Two fellow drivers, assaulted earlier that night, decry a stalled parallel inquiry.

According to L'Équipe, the accused has been in custody since indictment. He was taking Nice supporters to La Beaujoire for FC Nantes v OGC Nice.

Police were due to escort the away fans from Ancenis-Saint-Géréon bus station. About 30 flew in, met in the city centre and hired VTCs, passing Le Saint-Georges before trouble erupted.

One driver disputes that narrative, alleging a planned ambush by Brigade Loire and saying nobody was outside Le Saint-Georges. He led the convoy, missed the fatal clash, but was injured minutes earlier and his car damaged, filing a complaint on 11 January 2024.

Another driver complained on eight December 2023. They argue investigators have sidelined their case. Prosecutor Antoine Leroy said the file is with an investigating judge and their joint lawyer can make applications.

Their lawyer, Julien Plouton, who also represents the homicide accused, asked on two March to have them heard, a move accepted. He says two preliminary probes produced nothing and questions whether incompetence or a wish to bury the matter is involved.

Plouton says the cases are linked and that without clarity on the initial events, the court will lack context on the violence near La Beaujoire. In March 2027, Christopher V. is scheduled to face the Loire-Atlantique assize court.

Source: L'Équipe