Protests erupted overnight in the Parisian region after French police shot a 17-year-old dead during a traffic stop on Tuesday in the Western suburb of Nanterre, AFP reports.
The event sparked immediate protests in Nanterre, followed by neighbouring suburbs and at least five other cities, according to a police source cited by French media Libération.
At least 40 cars were set on fire in the demonstrations, and in the town of Val-Fourré (Mantes-la-Jolie), an annex building to the city hall was set on fire and completely destroyed, according to authorities.
Politicians and celebrities alike reacted to the death of the teenager. Indeed, the national secretary of EELV (French Green Party), Marine Tondelier, condemned the shooting as an act of racism. The punishment for his offence should have been "three years in prison and a €75,000 fine, not a bullet in the head," she said on a French radio station.
J’ai mal à ma France. 💙🤍💔💔💔 Une situation inacceptable. Tout mes pensées vont pour la famille et les proches de Naël, ce petit ange parti beaucoup trop tôt.
— Kylian Mbappé (@KMbappe) June 28, 2023
Renowned French footballer, Kylian Mbappé also expressed outrage. "I am hurting for my France," the French national team captain wrote on Twitter, saying that it was an "unacceptable situation".
Refusal to comply
The teenager, known as Nahel M., was shot by a police officer after refusing to comply with a traffic check. The officer was taken into custody in the afternoon and is being investigated for involuntary manslaughter.
The police forces initially claimed that the teen had tried to run the officers over before he got shot in the chest, but a video authenticated by AFP and other French media disproves this account.
The video shows two police officers standing by Nahel's parked car, pointing guns at him. One then shoots when the car tries to drive away. Before the gunshot, a voice is heard saying: "You're going to get a bullet in the head."
Authorities opened an investigation into "intentional homicide on a person holding public authority" as well as the victim's "refusal to comply", according to the Regional Prosecutor's Office.
Mort de Naël : une vidéo qui change tout et un cocktail explosif
Sans les images filmées au téléphone par un amateur, on serait largement passés à côté de la réalité des faits. ✍️ Le billet de Jonathan @BouchetPetersen https://t.co/tdIrb0fhL2 — Libération (@libe) June 28, 2023
Protestors reacted in anger to the teenager's brutal death at the hands of police, with the victim's mother taking to social media to call for "a revolt for [her] son".
Nahel's family intends to file a complaint for "intentional homicide" against the officer who fired his gun, naming the second officer as an accomplice to the crime. The family's lawyer also wants to go after the public authorities for providing a false account of the events.
Related News
- Bouncers told not to let 'black and North African people' into Brussels nightclub
- 'Belgium remains marked by racism,' new study finds
Around 2,000 law enforcement officers were mobilised in response to the actions, with police trying to disperse the crowds with tear gas.
At least 31 people were arrested overnight and 24 police officers were injured in the ensuing protests, according to French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin.
Earlier this year, France was criticised by the UN Human Rights Council for the concerning increase in police violence, racial profiling and racist discrimination.
Correction: A previous version of this article misidentified the teenager as Nael.
