A year later, a silent march brought together several hundred people

Several hundred people gathered on Saturday June 29 in Nanterre (Hauts-de-Seine) to pay tribute to Nahel, 17, whose death a year ago caused several days of riots throughout the country. The young man was killed on June 27, 2023 by a bullet fired at close range by a motorcycle police officer who was controlling the vehicle he was driving.

Led away by the victim’s mother and relatives behind a banner “Justice for Nahel and for all the others”the march began in silence, early in the afternoon, from the Charles-de-Gaulle esplanade, a few hundred meters from the Pablo-Picasso neighborhood where the teenager lived. It headed toward Nelson-Mandela Square where the teenager died. Behind them, many young people wearing white T-shirts “Justice for Nahel, executed on 06/27/2023”. “We are here to support the mother”explained to AFP Fatou, 16, who came with friends.

A reconstruction of the facts took place on May 5 in the presence of the police officer responsible for the shooting, his colleague present that day and their lawyers. Several witnesses were confronted in their statements, in particular to establish whether the author of the shot, Florian M., was in danger of death when he fired. According to elements of the investigation, the vehicle driven by Nahel had been stopped by traffic following a chase. Florian M., a motorcyclist aged 38 at the time of the events, was indicted for murder and placed in pre-trial detention for five months. He was released and placed under judicial supervision in November after several requests from his lawyer.