French Man Tied to Israel Hit-and-Run Fatally Shot Near Paris

Eric Robic, the French driver whose role in a fatal hit-and-run in Israel strained ties between Paris and Jerusalem, was shot dead on a street in the affluent Paris suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine, turning an old diplomatic sore point into a fresh homicide investigation. French prosecutors said Robic was killed around 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, April 16, 2026, in a public area west of Paris.

Witness accounts described two men on a scooter firing multiple handgun rounds before fleeing, and the case was quickly moved beyond the local prosecutor’s office. The Nanterre prosecutor’s office handed the file to the Paris JIRS specialized interregional jurisdiction, with the Paris judicial police criminal brigade assigned to the investigation. Authorities have not publicly identified the gunmen or announced a motive, leaving open the question of whether Robic was deliberately targeted.

Robic was 51 and had 12 prior convictions dating back to 1994, including financial offenses and aggravated involuntary manslaughter as a driver. That record already made him a familiar figure in French court files, but his name carried far greater weight in Israel, where he was convicted in Paris in December 2014 and sentenced to five years in prison over the 2011 death of Lee Zeitouni.

Zeitouni, a 25-year-old Pilates instructor, was struck and killed on September 16, 2011, while crossing a street in Tel Aviv on her way to work. Witnesses said Robic’s BMW X6 was traveling at about 100 km/h in a 50 km/h zone. Robic later testified that he had drunk vodka and whisky before driving and said he was speeding. He and his passenger, Claude Khayat, fled to France hours after the crash, and Khayat later received a 15-month sentence.

The flight to France triggered a diplomatic dispute because French law blocked extradition of French citizens to Israel at the time, fueling anger in Israel and pressure on French officials. The case prompted protests outside the French embassy in Tel Aviv and strong public emotions during the Paris proceedings, including a courtroom incident in which a man punched one of the defense lawyers. Robic’s killing now reopens a file that was never just about one crash, but about extradition, accountability and the limits of justice when a criminal case crosses borders.