UPDATED
Mother of teen driver killed by French police officer alleges racial motivation in his death
Nahel M.’s mother Mounia says police officer ‘saw the face of an Arab’ and ‘wanted to take his life’
PARIS
The mother of a 17-year-old delivery driver who was shot and killed by a police officer earlier this week during a traffic check in a Paris suburb said Thursday that she believes her son's death was driven by racial motives.
Nahel M.’s mother, Mounia, said during an interview broadcast on the France 5 TV channel that the police officer "saw the face of an Arab, a little kid," and "wanted to take his life."
She said she did not want to blame the whole law enforcement institution but only the police officer who killed her son.
"I don't blame the police. I blame a person: the one who took my son's life," she said.
Nahel was shot dead by police on Tuesday in the Paris suburb of Nanterre after he broke traffic laws and failed to stop, according to prosecutors.
The prosecutors said Thursday that the officer who killed Nahel has been charged with voluntary homicide and placed in pre-trial detention.
Laurent-Franck Lienard, the lawyer for the police, told BFMTV that his client is “devastated” and asks for “forgiveness from the family.”
“He doesn't get up in the morning to kill people. He didn't want to kill," he added.
Thursday evening was marked by tensions and clashes in Ile-de-France as well as in Marseille, Lille and in several other cities across France. The Interior Ministry said on Twitter that 100 people were arrested during the protests.
Protesters tried to burn down the town hall in Clichy in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, according to video footage circulated on social media.
A curfew was imposed in Meudon for the night from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m, said the mayor of the municipality, which is located 9.1 kilometers (5.6 miles) from the center of Paris.
Jean-Didier Berger, the mayor of Clamart commune, located 8.7 kilometers (5.4 miles) from the center of Paris, also decided to impose a curfew from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. until Monday.
Valerie Pecresse, president of the regional council of Île-de-France, also announced that bus and tram services in and around Paris were suspended after 9 p.m. on Thursday to protect employees and passengers.
Paris police have been authorized to use drones in the city and aslo in the departments of Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne from Thursday evening until Friday morning at 6 a.m.
A police officer was injured and taken to the hospital in Marseille, according to a police source, and five people were arrested in the city.
In Lile, police arrested six people. Protesters set a van on fire and also trash bins in Toulouse.
Nahel M.’s mother Mounia says police officer ‘saw the face of an Arab’ and ‘wanted to take his life’
Gizem Taskin Nicollet |30.06.2023 -
PARIS
The mother of a 17-year-old delivery driver who was shot and killed by a police officer earlier this week during a traffic check in a Paris suburb said Thursday that she believes her son's death was driven by racial motives.
Nahel M.’s mother, Mounia, said during an interview broadcast on the France 5 TV channel that the police officer "saw the face of an Arab, a little kid," and "wanted to take his life."
She said she did not want to blame the whole law enforcement institution but only the police officer who killed her son.
"I don't blame the police. I blame a person: the one who took my son's life," she said.
Nahel was shot dead by police on Tuesday in the Paris suburb of Nanterre after he broke traffic laws and failed to stop, according to prosecutors.
The prosecutors said Thursday that the officer who killed Nahel has been charged with voluntary homicide and placed in pre-trial detention.
Laurent-Franck Lienard, the lawyer for the police, told BFMTV that his client is “devastated” and asks for “forgiveness from the family.”
“He doesn't get up in the morning to kill people. He didn't want to kill," he added.
Thursday evening was marked by tensions and clashes in Ile-de-France as well as in Marseille, Lille and in several other cities across France. The Interior Ministry said on Twitter that 100 people were arrested during the protests.
Protesters tried to burn down the town hall in Clichy in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, according to video footage circulated on social media.
A curfew was imposed in Meudon for the night from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m, said the mayor of the municipality, which is located 9.1 kilometers (5.6 miles) from the center of Paris.
Jean-Didier Berger, the mayor of Clamart commune, located 8.7 kilometers (5.4 miles) from the center of Paris, also decided to impose a curfew from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. until Monday.
Valerie Pecresse, president of the regional council of Île-de-France, also announced that bus and tram services in and around Paris were suspended after 9 p.m. on Thursday to protect employees and passengers.
Paris police have been authorized to use drones in the city and aslo in the departments of Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne from Thursday evening until Friday morning at 6 a.m.
A police officer was injured and taken to the hospital in Marseille, according to a police source, and five people were arrested in the city.
In Lile, police arrested six people. Protesters set a van on fire and also trash bins in Toulouse.
WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT - Clashes erupt after tribute march for French teenager
Eyewitness
Tear gas and stun grenades won't stop riots and protests as long as fear persists in Paris after boy shot by police
Mounia, a woman whose only child Nahel was killed by a police officer on Tuesday, channelled her emotion into leading a peaceful protest on Thursday. But others on the march explained why they will continue to speak up, motivated by fear - even if they are met by a fierce crackdown.
Adam Parsons
Europe correspondent @adamparsons
Thursday 29 June 2023
Thousands of people crowded onto the streets of Nanterre, many holding banners or placards, demanding "justice for Nahel".
And in the midst of them, sitting confidently on the roof of a vehicle, was the focal point of the demonstration - the woman who has suffered unspeakable pain, and is now channelling her emotion.
Her name is Mounia, and it was her son Nahel - her only child - who was killed on Tuesday morning by a police officer.
You could excuse her for wanting to hide away from the world but instead, she took the lead role here, asking people to join a peaceful protest.
Her son's name was everywhere - on T-shirts, huge banners the width of the road, and chanted as the crowd slowly made its way to the prefecture building.
Nahel was remembered and, for most of the march's length, there was tension and anger but no violence.
Maybe that was because there was also no sign of a police uniform.
MORE ON FRANCE
France stops public transport and deploys 40,000 officers amid fears of third night of rioting
Why are people protesting in France - and why is there a history of rioting?
France riots: Police killing of 17-year-old boy in Nanterre is catalyst for wanton destruction
Related Topics:France
Talk to just about anyone here, and they'll tell you a story of how, and why, they dislike, mistrust or simply hate the police.
You hear accusations of brutality, heavy-handed arrests, intimidation and racism.
So while there may have been plain-clothed police officers among the crowd, there was no visible presence at all.
Which, after two nights of rioting, was striking.
Tear gas and stun grenades won't stop riots and protests as long as fear persists in Paris after boy shot by police
Mounia, a woman whose only child Nahel was killed by a police officer on Tuesday, channelled her emotion into leading a peaceful protest on Thursday. But others on the march explained why they will continue to speak up, motivated by fear - even if they are met by a fierce crackdown.
Adam Parsons
Europe correspondent @adamparsons
Thursday 29 June 2023
Thousands of people crowded onto the streets of Nanterre, many holding banners or placards, demanding "justice for Nahel".
And in the midst of them, sitting confidently on the roof of a vehicle, was the focal point of the demonstration - the woman who has suffered unspeakable pain, and is now channelling her emotion.
Her name is Mounia, and it was her son Nahel - her only child - who was killed on Tuesday morning by a police officer.
You could excuse her for wanting to hide away from the world but instead, she took the lead role here, asking people to join a peaceful protest.
Her son's name was everywhere - on T-shirts, huge banners the width of the road, and chanted as the crowd slowly made its way to the prefecture building.
Nahel was remembered and, for most of the march's length, there was tension and anger but no violence.
Maybe that was because there was also no sign of a police uniform.
MORE ON FRANCE
France stops public transport and deploys 40,000 officers amid fears of third night of rioting
Why are people protesting in France - and why is there a history of rioting?
France riots: Police killing of 17-year-old boy in Nanterre is catalyst for wanton destruction
Related Topics:France
Talk to just about anyone here, and they'll tell you a story of how, and why, they dislike, mistrust or simply hate the police.
You hear accusations of brutality, heavy-handed arrests, intimidation and racism.
So while there may have been plain-clothed police officers among the crowd, there was no visible presence at all.
Which, after two nights of rioting, was striking.
Image:Mounia, the mother of Nahel
Protesters eventually met by tear gas and stun grenades
That changed when the march reached its destination near the prefecture building, effectively the administrative headquarters of the district.
It was a destination that not only represented authority but was also the very place where Nahel's life had come to an end - his car careered to a halt on the far side of the square in front of the prefecture, moments after he had been shot.
And there, protecting the prefecture, were the police.
Lines of vans, full of the CRS riot police who have long been a staple of violent confrontations across France.
And today followed what is now a familiar pattern - rocks and fireworks hurled from protesters; tear gas and stun grenades coming back from the police.
The truth, of course, is that a small minority of people are instigating the trouble and there are plenty across Nanterre and beyond who feel that sense of disenfranchisement from society but don't want to resort to violence.
Read more:
Protesters eventually met by tear gas and stun grenades
That changed when the march reached its destination near the prefecture building, effectively the administrative headquarters of the district.
It was a destination that not only represented authority but was also the very place where Nahel's life had come to an end - his car careered to a halt on the far side of the square in front of the prefecture, moments after he had been shot.
And there, protecting the prefecture, were the police.
Lines of vans, full of the CRS riot police who have long been a staple of violent confrontations across France.
And today followed what is now a familiar pattern - rocks and fireworks hurled from protesters; tear gas and stun grenades coming back from the police.
The truth, of course, is that a small minority of people are instigating the trouble and there are plenty across Nanterre and beyond who feel that sense of disenfranchisement from society but don't want to resort to violence.
Read more:
People attend a march in tribute to Nahel
'I am scared of the police'
But it's also true that among them sits a seam of sympathy - people who have seen their streets lit up with fires and conflict, and blame the police.
"I am scared of the police," one man told me. "If they can kill a 17-year-old then they can kill anyone."
There were two other people in the car along with Nahel.
One of them has been detained; the other escaped and was not caught.
But his friends are in touch with him.
'I am scared of the police'
But it's also true that among them sits a seam of sympathy - people who have seen their streets lit up with fires and conflict, and blame the police.
"I am scared of the police," one man told me. "If they can kill a 17-year-old then they can kill anyone."
There were two other people in the car along with Nahel.
One of them has been detained; the other escaped and was not caught.
But his friends are in touch with him.
People at the march
One told us that the youngster painted a very different picture of what happened - telling a story of the police screaming at them and hitting Nahel with the butt of a pistol.
He apparently claims that the car moved forward because Nahel's foot slipped off the brake pedal.
We can't substantiate these claims but we do know that the prosecutor has charged the police officer, who hasn't been named, with voluntary homicide.
There is little sign that the promptness of that charge has quelled the anger.
But what those rumours - whether true or not - have done is increase the sense, among some people in some places in this country, that the police didn't tell the whole story; that they remain a problem, rather than a solution.
And as long as enough people believe that, then this disorder may rumble on.
One told us that the youngster painted a very different picture of what happened - telling a story of the police screaming at them and hitting Nahel with the butt of a pistol.
He apparently claims that the car moved forward because Nahel's foot slipped off the brake pedal.
We can't substantiate these claims but we do know that the prosecutor has charged the police officer, who hasn't been named, with voluntary homicide.
There is little sign that the promptness of that charge has quelled the anger.
But what those rumours - whether true or not - have done is increase the sense, among some people in some places in this country, that the police didn't tell the whole story; that they remain a problem, rather than a solution.
And as long as enough people believe that, then this disorder may rumble on.
Prison Attacked With Fireworks as Chaos Erupts in France
BY FATMA KHALED ON 6/29/23 NEWSWEEK
France Faces George Floyd Moment as Police Shooting Sparks Mass Protest
Protesters demonstrating the police killing of a 17-year-old threw fireworks at a prison in Fresnes, south of Paris, amid ongoing civil unrest in France.
About 20 young men attacked the prison's entrance with fireworks and projectiles on Thursday, AFP reported. Videos shared online showed chaos as shops and cars were set ablaze in some areas, according to BBC News. Other videos showed an alarm sounding during the prison attack. Many protesters also threw fireworks into police stations.
Suburbs of Paris saw multiple clashes, but the most extreme confrontations took place in the western suburb of Nanterre, where the teen was fatally shot. Le Monde reported that local authorities had to partially withdraw.
The teen, named only as Nahel M., was shot Tuesday morning as he seemed to refuse to comply with a traffic stop. Initial police reports said he attempted to plow into officers. AFP said video showed that the teen was shot in the chest at point-blank range.
The southwestern city of Toulouse and cities in the north also saw unrest, and disturbances were reported in Amiens, Dijon, Saint-Etienne and outside of Lyon in the southeast.
READ MORE
President Emmanuel Macron said setting fire to town halls, schools and police stations was "unjustifiable." He called in an emergency Cabinet meeting on Wednesday to discuss the unrest.
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said that France had witnessed "a night of unbearable violence," according to the BBC, and added that "the state must be firm in its response." Darmanin said 40,000 police officers would be deployed across the country to control the situation and prevent violence from escalating.
The death of the teen, who is of Algerian descent, was the third fatal shooting during traffic stops in France in 2023 after a record 13 in 2022, according to local reports. There were three such killings in 2021 and two in 2020, according to Reuters. The news agency reported that most of those killed by police in traffic stops since 2017 were Black or of Arab origin.
The mass anger stemming from Nahel's death is reminiscent of Black Lives Matter protests that erupted in the U.S. after George Floyd, who was Black, was killed by a white police officer in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020. Officer Derek Chauvin suffocated Floyd by kneeling on his neck. Protests broke out across the country with demonstrators demanding justice for Floyd.
Newsweek reached out to France's presidential website for comment.
BY FATMA KHALED ON 6/29/23 NEWSWEEK
France Faces George Floyd Moment as Police Shooting Sparks Mass Protest
Protesters demonstrating the police killing of a 17-year-old threw fireworks at a prison in Fresnes, south of Paris, amid ongoing civil unrest in France.
About 20 young men attacked the prison's entrance with fireworks and projectiles on Thursday, AFP reported. Videos shared online showed chaos as shops and cars were set ablaze in some areas, according to BBC News. Other videos showed an alarm sounding during the prison attack. Many protesters also threw fireworks into police stations.
Suburbs of Paris saw multiple clashes, but the most extreme confrontations took place in the western suburb of Nanterre, where the teen was fatally shot. Le Monde reported that local authorities had to partially withdraw.
The teen, named only as Nahel M., was shot Tuesday morning as he seemed to refuse to comply with a traffic stop. Initial police reports said he attempted to plow into officers. AFP said video showed that the teen was shot in the chest at point-blank range.
CRS riot police face protesters, with the Grande Arche de la Defense in the background, at the end of a commemoration march for a teen driver shot dead by police, in the Parisian suburb of Nanterre on June 29, 2023. Violent protests broke out in France in the early hours of the day as anger grew over the killing with security forces arresting 150 people in the chaos that saw balaclava-clad protesters burning cars and setting off fireworks.
ZAKARIA ABDELKAFI/AFP/GETTY
French prosecutors said the officer, who is under formal investigation for voluntary homicide, had no right to open fire.
The teen's death sparked mass protest across the country, where at least 180 people were arrested on the second night of unrest.
Violence also erupted in the Pablo Picasso district, where young protesters took to the streets, with one person yelling "death to cops!" as a number of cars and garbage bins were set on fire, according to the BBC.
French prosecutors said the officer, who is under formal investigation for voluntary homicide, had no right to open fire.
The teen's death sparked mass protest across the country, where at least 180 people were arrested on the second night of unrest.
Violence also erupted in the Pablo Picasso district, where young protesters took to the streets, with one person yelling "death to cops!" as a number of cars and garbage bins were set on fire, according to the BBC.
The southwestern city of Toulouse and cities in the north also saw unrest, and disturbances were reported in Amiens, Dijon, Saint-Etienne and outside of Lyon in the southeast.
READ MORE
President Emmanuel Macron said setting fire to town halls, schools and police stations was "unjustifiable." He called in an emergency Cabinet meeting on Wednesday to discuss the unrest.
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said that France had witnessed "a night of unbearable violence," according to the BBC, and added that "the state must be firm in its response." Darmanin said 40,000 police officers would be deployed across the country to control the situation and prevent violence from escalating.
The death of the teen, who is of Algerian descent, was the third fatal shooting during traffic stops in France in 2023 after a record 13 in 2022, according to local reports. There were three such killings in 2021 and two in 2020, according to Reuters. The news agency reported that most of those killed by police in traffic stops since 2017 were Black or of Arab origin.
The mass anger stemming from Nahel's death is reminiscent of Black Lives Matter protests that erupted in the U.S. after George Floyd, who was Black, was killed by a white police officer in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020. Officer Derek Chauvin suffocated Floyd by kneeling on his neck. Protests broke out across the country with demonstrators demanding justice for Floyd.
Newsweek reached out to France's presidential website for comment.
Protests spread in France over police killing of 17-year-old
A firefighter stands in front of a burning vehicle during clashes between protesters and police, after the death of Nahel, a 17-year-old teenager killed by a French police officer during a traffic stop, in Nanterre, Paris suburb, France, June 28, 2023. (Reuters)
Reuters
Published: 29 June ,2023
President Emmanuel Macron convened a crisis meeting with senior ministers on Thursday after riots spread across France overnight over the deadly police shooting of a teenager of North African descent during a traffic stop.
Police made 150 arrests nationwide during a second night of unrest, Interior Min-ister Gerald Darmanin said, as public anger spilled out onto the streets, notably in the ethnically diverse suburbs of France’s big cities.
The epicenter of the unrest was in Nanterre, a working-class town on the western outskirts of Paris where the shooting of the 17-year-old boy identified as Nahel took place.
“The last few hours have been marked by scenes of violence against police sta-tions but also schools and town halls, and thus institutions of the Republic and these scenes are wholly unjustifiable,” Macron said as he opened the emergency meeting.
The fatal shooting has fed into longstanding complaints of police violence from within the low-income, racially mixed suburbs that ring major cities in France.
A video shared on social media, verified by Reuters, shows two police officers beside a car, a Mercedes AMG, with one shooting at the teenage driver at close range as he pulls away.
He died shortly afterwards from his wounds, the local prosecutor said.
The interior ministry had said Wednesday on that 2,000 police had been mobi-lized in the Paris region. Shortly before midnight on Nanterre’s Avenue Pablo Pi-casso, a trail of overturned vehicles burned as fireworks fizzed at police lines.
Police also clashed with protesters in the northern city of Lille and in Toulouse in the southwest, and there was unrest in Amiens, Dijon as well as in numerous dis-tricts throughout the greater Paris region, the authorities said.
A police officer is being investigated for voluntary homicide for shooting the youth. Prosecutors say the boy failed to comply with an order to stop his car.
Rights groups allege systemic racism inside law enforcement agencies in France, a charge Macron has previously denied.
The victim, identified as Nahel M, 17, was shot at point-blank range by police during a traffic check in a Paris suburb.
Published On 29 Jun 2023
Unrest continued in France for a second night as security forces deployed in their thousands to quell protests over the fatal shooting of a 17-year-old boy by police, which French President Emmanuel Macron described as “inexcusable” while pleading for calm as justice took its course.
Approximately 2,000 riot police were called up in suburbs around Paris on Wednesday night following the fatal, point-blank range shooting on Tuesday morning of the teenager during a traffic check in the Paris suburb of Nanterre.
Protesters set fire to rubbish bins and fireworks were set off in Nanterre on Wednesday night, as well as in other communes of the Hauts-de-Seine region to the west of Paris, and in the eastern city of Dijon. In the Essonne region to the south of the capital, a group of people set a bus on fire after having all the passengers get off, police said.
In the southern city of Toulouse, several cars were torched and responding police and firefighters were pelted with projectiles as thick black smoke billowed high into the sky, a police source said.
About 16 people were arrested across the country, police said shortly after midnight on Wednesday.
Anger over the killing spawned unrest in multiple towns around Paris on Tuesday night. Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said 31 people were arrested, 24 police officers injured and 40 cars burned overnight on Tuesday and into the early hours of Wednesday.
“A teenager was killed. That is inexplicable and unforgivable,” Macron said during an official visit to Marseille in southern France. “Nothing can justify the death of a young person,” he said.
French celebrities including star footballer Kylian Mbappe expressed outrage and grief at the death of the teenager, while the government issued rare criticism of the security forces in a bid to cool tempers.
“I am hurting for my France,” tweeted Mbappe, captain of the French men’s national football team and star player at Paris Saint-Germain.
The victim, identified as Nahel M from Nanterre, was pulled over by two police officers for breaking traffic rules while driving a yellow Mercedes on Tuesday morning.
Police initially reported that an officer had shot at the teenager because he was driving his car at him but this version of events was contradicted by a video circulating on social media. That footage shows the two police officers standing by the side of the stationary car, with one pointing a weapon at the driver.
A voice is heard saying: “You are going to get a bullet in the head.” The police officer then appears to fire as the car abruptly drives off.
The 38-year-old policeman filmed firing the lethal shot was taken into custody afterwards and is under investigation for voluntary manslaughter.
The incident has reignited debate in France about police tactics amid longstanding criticism from rights groups about the treatment of people in low-income suburbs, particularly ethnic minorities.
Locals look at the façade of a burned-out annexe of the town hall in the Le Val Fouree neighbourhood in Mantes-la-Jolie, west of Paris, France, on June 28, 2023, a day after the killing of a 17-year-old in Nanterre by a police officer [Alain Jocard/AFP]
Last year, 13 people were killed in France after refusing to stop for police traffic checks. The killings follow a law change in 2017 that gave greater powers to officers to use their weapons and which is now under scrutiny.
Among France’s left-wing politicians, Greens party leader Marine Tondelier said: “What I see on this video is the execution by police of a 17-year-old kid, in France, in 2023, in broad daylight.”
But many right-wing politicians were quick to defend the reputation of the police force, with far-right leader Marine Le Pen saying the officer in question was entitled to the “presumption of innocence”.
All French governments are haunted by the prospect of a repeat of the 2005 riots sparked by the death of two black boys during a police chase. Those protests resulted in about 10,000 cars being burned and 6,000 people arrested.
Nahel’s mother posted a video on TikTok calling for a tribute march on Thursday for her son, her only child.
Nahel M’s lawyer, Yassine Bouzrou, said he would also file an additional complaint for false testimony over the allegation that Nahel had tried to run over the police officer.
Last year, 13 people were killed in France after refusing to stop for police traffic checks. The killings follow a law change in 2017 that gave greater powers to officers to use their weapons and which is now under scrutiny.
Among France’s left-wing politicians, Greens party leader Marine Tondelier said: “What I see on this video is the execution by police of a 17-year-old kid, in France, in 2023, in broad daylight.”
But many right-wing politicians were quick to defend the reputation of the police force, with far-right leader Marine Le Pen saying the officer in question was entitled to the “presumption of innocence”.
All French governments are haunted by the prospect of a repeat of the 2005 riots sparked by the death of two black boys during a police chase. Those protests resulted in about 10,000 cars being burned and 6,000 people arrested.
Nahel’s mother posted a video on TikTok calling for a tribute march on Thursday for her son, her only child.
Nahel M’s lawyer, Yassine Bouzrou, said he would also file an additional complaint for false testimony over the allegation that Nahel had tried to run over the police officer.
SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES
French police, protesters clash after Macron calls police fatal shooting of teen 'inexcusable'
By Euronews with AP • Updated: 29/06/2023
Police clashed with protesters overnight just hours after French President Emmanuel Macron called the shooting death of a 17-year-old delivery driver by police “inexcusable” and pleaded for calm while justice takes its course.
It was the second night of violence in the Paris suburb of Nanterre even as the government heightened the police presence in Paris and other big cities Wednesday after the killing triggered a night of scattered violence.
Fires could be seen burning at some intersections in the suburb and protesters shot fireworks at police, video from the suburb showed.
Unrest in Paris after 17-year-old boy shot dead by police
The death of 17-year-old Nael during a traffic check Tuesday in the Paris suburb of Nanterre elicited nationwide concern and widespread messages of indignation and condolences. French soccer star Kylian Mbappe tweeted: “I hurt for my France”. Nael's surname has not been released by authorities or by his family.
Nael's mother called for a silent march Thursday in his honour on the square where he was killed, while French activists renewed calls to tackle what they see as systemic police abuse. Government officials condemned the killing and sought to distance themselves from the police officer's actions.
“Nothing justifies the death of a young person,” Macron told reporters in Marseille, calling what happened “inexplicable and inexcusable.”
In this grab taken from video provided by @Ohana_FNG, two police officers question a driver, one pointing a gun towards the window of a yellow car, in Nanterre, France.AP/AP
Videos of the incident shared online show two police officers leaning into the driver-side window of a yellow car before the vehicle pulls away as one officer fires into the window. The car is later seen crashed into a post nearby.
The victim, who was driving the car, was wounded by a gunshot and died at the scene, the prosecutor’s office said in a statement. A passenger in the car was briefly detained and released, and police are searching for another passenger who fled.
Anger over the killing spawned unrest in multiple towns around Paris. Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said 31 people were arrested, 24 police officers injured and 40 cars burned in overnight unrest.
The police officer suspected of firing on Nael remains in custody and faces potential manslaughter charges, according to the Nanterre prosecutor's office.
The Nanterre neighbourhood where Nael lived remained on edge Wednesday, with police on guard around the regional administration and burned car wreckage and overturned garbage bins still visible in some areas. Bouquets of orange and yellow roses were tied to the post where the car crashed after the shooting, on Nanterre's Nelson Mandela Square.
Flowers are attached to a pole where a young man was killed by a police officers, Wednesday, June 28, 2023 in Nanterre, outside Paris.Lewis Joly/Copyright 2023 The AP. All rights reserved.
Speaking to Parliament on Wednesday, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said, “the shocking images broadcast yesterday show an intervention that clearly appears as not complying with the rules of engagement of our police forces.”
Deadly use of firearms is less common in France than in the United States. Tuesday’s death unleashed anger in Nanterre and other towns, including around housing projects where many residents struggle with poverty and discrimination and feel police abuse is under-punished.
Several people have died or sustained injuries at the hands of French police in recent years, prompting demands for more accountability. France also saw protests against racial profiling and other injustice in the wake of George Floyd’s killing by police in Minnesota.
Macron called for calm and for respect for Nael's loved ones. Asked about police abuses, he said justice should be allowed to run its course.
Police forces clash with youths in Nanterre, outside Paris, Thursday, June 29, 2023.Christophe Ena/Copyright 2023 The AP. All rights reserved.
Interior Minister Darmanin said 1,200 police were deployed overnight and 2,000 would be out in force Wednesday in the Paris region and around other big cities to “maintain order.”
A lawyer for Nael's family, Yassine Bouzrou, told The Associated Press they want the police officer pursued for murder instead of manslaughter, and want the investigation handed to a different region because they fear Nanterre investigators won't be impartial.
The lawyers rejected a reported statement by the police officers that they believed their lives were in danger because the driver had threatened to run them over.
Mbappe, who grew up in the Paris suburb of Bondy, was among those who were shocked by what happened.
“I hurt for my France. Unacceptable situation. All my thoughts go to the family and loved ones of Nael, this little angel gone much too soon,” he tweeted.
France protesters shoot fireworks at police
as 150 arrested
Unrest reported in Paris, Toulouse and other major cities after boy shot by officers
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Fires burn in the street in Nanterre. AFP
The National
Jun 28, 2023
At least 150 people have been arrested across France as protests intensify over the death of a teenager shot dead by police on Tuesday.
The boy, named only as Nahel M, 17, was shot at point-blank range after refusing a traffic stop in Nanterre, a northern suburb of Paris.
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said 150 people had been arrested across the country, with protests reported as far south as Toulouse.
The death of Nahel, reportedly of Algerian origin, has reignited public anger over police behaviour, particularly towards France's large ethnic minority population.
READ MORE
France fears fresh riots after teenage driver shot dead by traffic police
Police said he was shot in the chest after attempting to drive at an officer, a claim contradicted by footage released of the incident.
In the video, a voice is heard to say: “You are going to get a bullet in the head” before a police officer fires at Nahel, who tried to drive away from the scene.
Mr Darmanin said Wednesday marked “an unbearable night of violence against symbols of the republic”.
“Town halls, schools, and police stations set on fire or attacked – 150 arrests … shame on those who did not call for calm,” he tweeted.
Footage on social media showed protesters firing a volley of fireworks at riot police on Wednesday night.
In the central city of Lyon, 35 people have been rehomed after their apartments were destroyed by a fire started by fireworks, the fire service told AFP.
'Very tense' in Nanterre
In Nanterre, youths set up a barricade and at least a dozen vehicles were set on fire as police responded with tear gas.
“Justice for Nahel” and “Police kill” were scrawled on the walls of nearby buildings.
“It's very tense,” a mediator told Le Monde newspaper. “We're trying to act as a buffer but we know its going to be very complicated.”
Protests were also reported in other towns and cities, including in Lille and Rennes – where around 300 people gathered in memory of Nahel.
In the Essonne region south of the capital, a group set a bus on fire after forcing all the passengers off, police said, while in Clamart a tram was set on fire.
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Firefighters extinguish burning vehicles during the clashes. Reuters
In the working class 18th and 19th districts of north-eastern Paris, police fired flashballs to disperse protesters burning rubbish, but instead of leaving, the crowd responded by throwing bottles, AFP reported.
“We are sick of being treated like this. This is for Nahel, we are Nahel,” said two young men calling themselves “avengers” as they wheeled rubbish bins from a nearby estate to add to a burning barricade.
One said his family had lived in France for three generations but “they are never going to accept us”.
On Wednesday morning, the Nanterre local council called for an end to the “destructive spiral”, while the government issued rare criticism of the security forces.
“A teenager was killed. That is inexplicable and unforgivable,” President Emmanuel Macron said during an official visit to Marseille in the south.
Updated: June 28, 2023, 11:38 PM
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