French authorities called for calm on Wednesday after a night of violence in the Paris region, following the death of Nahel, 17, killed by a police officer after refusing to comply.
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This drama aroused strong emotion in France, from the head of state Emmanuel Macron to the captain of the French football team Kylian Mbappé.
Deputies and members of the government observed at the beginning of the afternoon a minute of silence in the National Assembly, in tribute to the teenager.
At first, police sources said that a police officer had fired when a vehicle drove into two police bikers on Tuesday, in Nanterre, in the Hauts-de-Seine department (west of Paris).
But a video on social networks, authenticated by AFP, showed that one of the two police officers held the driver at gunpoint and had fired at point-blank range when the car had restarted. We hear “you’re going to take a bullet in the head”, without being able to identify the author of this sentence.
Hit in the chest, Nahel M. died shortly afterwards.
“The shocking images (…) show an intervention which clearly does not comply with the rules of engagement of our law enforcement forces”, estimated Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne while President Macron denounced an act “ inexplicable” and “inexcusable”.
AFP
Major police unions blasted the executive’s statements, emphasizing the “presumption of innocence”.
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin announced the mobilization in the evening of 2,000 members of the police in Paris and the inner suburbs, 800 more than the previous night.
In Nanterre, where the clashes were the most violent, “several public and private buildings, including schools, suffered significant and unacceptable damage, sometimes irreparable”, deplored the town hall, calling for an end to “this destructive spiral”.
AFP
In front of the municipal health center, Juliette (who requested anonymity), 55, says that she has “not slept” because of the clashes near her home and says she feels “sadness, anger and incomprehension”. Nahel “was not a delinquent,” she said, adding that she had met him many times in a neighborhood recreation center.
“Trust is broken between young people and the police, in both directions,” laments Fatiha Abdouni, co-founder of a local association that supports mothers.
The clashes, which began in the late afternoon, ended around 3:30 a.m., spreading to several municipalities all around Paris.
AFP
Some disturbances and acts of vandalism have also been observed in the provinces, according to a police source.
A total of 31 people were arrested, 24 members of the security forces slightly injured and around 40 cars burned, according to the Ministry of the Interior.
Nahel’s mother called for a white march Thursday at 2 p.m. in front of the Hauts-de-Seine prefecture.
This case has reignited controversy over the action of law enforcement in France, where a record number of 13 deaths were recorded in 2022 after refusals to comply during roadside checks.
“I have pain in my France. An unacceptable situation,” wrote Paris-Saint-Germain (PSG) star footballer Kylian Mbappé on Twitter.
Another French international, FC Barcelona defender Jules Koundé, lamented a “dramatic” situation.
“May justice worthy of the name honor the memory of this child,” actor Omar Sy also tweeted.
The 38-year-old police officer suspected of the fatal shooting is being questioned by the General Inspectorate of the National Police as part of an open investigation into intentional homicide. His police custody has been extended, we learned on Wednesday from the Nanterre prosecutor’s office.
The tragedy also provoked many reactions from political leaders.
“Enough ! These murders engage the authority of the State! This police must be completely refounded, its murderers punished”, tweeted the leader of La France insoumise (radical left) Jean-Luc Mélenchon.
The representatives of the National Rally (extreme right) Jordan Bardella and Sébastien Chenu invoked a “tragedy” and asked to respect “the time of the investigation”, as well as “the presumption of innocence”.