Teenager killed in France | The policeman who fired the shot presented to a judge, Macron condemns the riots

(Nanterre) President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday denounced “unjustifiable violence” after a second night of urban riots in France triggered by the death of a teenager killed by a police officer, who must be presented to a judge for a possible charge for “intentional homicide”.

Since the death of 17-year-old Nahel M. during a roadside check on Tuesday, tensions have increased in the Parisian suburbs before escalating and spreading to several other cities on Wednesday and Thursday night during which public facilities were targeted and clashes broke out with the police.

During a crisis unit, the head of state denounced “unjustifiable violence” against “institutions and the Republic”. “Town halls, schools and police stations” were “burnt or attacked”, indicated the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin, specifying that 150 people had been arrested during this night of tensions which raises fears of a new conflagration of the suburbs.

At the end of his police custody, the police officer responsible for the fatal shooting of young Nahel will be presented Thursday to an examining magistrate with a view to a possible charge for “intentional homicide”, indicated the public prosecutor’s office, which requested his remand in custody.

The conditions for the use of his weapon were “not met”, also estimated the prosecutor of Nanterre, a popular city west of Paris.

It was in this city that Nahel M. was killed Tuesday at close range during a police check justified, according to the prosecutor, by the fact that the young man was driving at high speed “on a bus lane” and that he had refused to stop at a red light.

The police version according to which the young man would have run into the biker was invalidated by a video of the drama where we hear “you are going to take a bullet in the head”, without being able to attribute this sentence to someone in particular.

On Wednesday, Emmanuel Macron had mentioned an “inexplicable” and “inexcusable” act, words criticized by the far right and the police unions in the name of the presumption of innocence.

The president expressed the wish Thursday that “the next hours” will be those of “recollection” and “respect” while a white march must be held at 2 p.m. in Nanterre in memory of Nahel and at the initiative of his mother. , who expressed his feeling of “revolt”.

“It’s for Nahel”

Despite a reinforcement of the police presence near Paris, where 2,000 men had been mobilized, the clashes considerably amplified the night of Wednesday to Thursday, extending to several other provincial towns, including Lyon, Toulouse or Brest.

Media library destroyed by flames in Amiens, burnt cars, town halls and public transport targeted: the damage caused amazement and consternation among residents and local elected officials.

“They set everything on fire,” lamented the mayor of Mons-en-Barœul, Rudy Elegeest, his voice tired after a night of helpless witnessing the destruction. “The material damage is absolutely considerable. »

In several cities, groups of very mobile rioters fired fireworks mortars and threw cobblestones at the police who responded with tear gas. The security post at the entrance to the Fresnes prison area, south-east of Paris, was attacked with fireworks.

“We are tired of being treated like this. This is for Nahel, we are Nahel,” said two young people, their faces masked as they pushed trash cans.

The violence also affected the northeast of Paris. On Thursday, tram and bus traffic was disrupted in the city due to the damage.

Memory of 2005

These disturbances have revived the memory of the riots which shook the country in 2005 after the accidental death of two teenagers pursued by the police. The authorities then declared a state of emergency, an extremely rare measure that some right-wing leaders are already calling for.

France has on several occasions been the scene of urban violence triggered by the death of young men, often of immigrant origin from the Maghreb and other African countries, following police interventions.

This new drama has particularly reignited the controversy over police action during road checks in France, where a record number of 13 deaths were recorded in 2022 after refusals to comply.

On Wednesday, in western France, a police officer who fatally shot a 19-year-old Guinean during a traffic check was charged with intentional homicide.