France Faces Unrest After Police Kill Teenager
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent
PARIS (Worthy News) – Thousands of extra security forces faced a second night of unrest in France after a 17-year-old delivery driver was shot and killed by police near Paris during a traffic check.
The boy, named only as Nael M., was killed Tuesday in the Paris suburb of Nanterre, triggering violent protests there and in several other areas around the French capital.
Authorities said dozens of police officers were injured, and dozens of cars were set alight during the confrontations, prompting the French government to appeal for calm.
“We need calm for justice to carry out its work. And we need calm everywhere because we can’t allow the situation to worsen,” said President Emmanuel Macron added.
He spoke as an extra 2,000 police officers were mobilized Wednesday afternoon in anticipation of the violence stretching into a second evening.
However, Macron also made clear he understood the public anger over what had transpired in the working class area.
He described as “unjustifiable” the fatal shooting of the youth, who prosecutors said was in the car, a Mercedes AMG, with two others at the time of the incident.
‘NOTHING JUSTIFIES DEATH’
Speaking to journalists in Marseille, Macron said: “Nothing, nothing justifies the death of a young man.”
“I would like to express the emotion of the entire nation at the death of young Nael and give his family of our solidarity and the affection of the nation.”
The death of the 17-year-old was pronounced at 9:15 a.m. local time on Tuesday “following at least one gunshot wound,” and despite the intervention of emergency medics, the Nanterre prosecutor’s office said.
A passenger in the vehicle was taken into custody and later released, while another passenger, believed to have fled the scene, is missing, the statement said.
An autopsy and additional examinations, including a toxicology report, have been ordered by the prosecutor’s office, officials said.
The national police are also investigating the incident, said French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin. “Following the death of a young driver in Nanterre, who was being checked by two police officers, the [General Inspectorate of the National Police] (IGPN) has launched an investigation to shed light on the circumstances of this tragedy,” he said.
Earlier, Paris Police Chief Laurent Nunez told French broadcaster BFMTV that the officer was fired when the teenager refused to follow police instructions.
‘REFUSAL TO COMPLY
“This vehicle made a first refusal to comply, then it was blocked in the flow of traffic where there was a new control attempt by the two police officers,” he said. “At that time, the driver, who had first turned off the engine, restarted the vehicle, then left. It was in this context that the policeman used his firearm.”
Video of the incident circulated on social media showing two police officers beside the car, a Mercedes AMG, with one shooting as the driver pulled away.
The Nanterre prosecutor’s office said the officer accused of shooting at the teenager had been detained on homicide charges.
Angered by the teenager’s death, protesters took to the streets in Nanterre on Tuesday.
Around 350 police and paramilitary officers were mobilized, mainly in Nanterre, to quell the clashes, which continued through the early hours of Wednesday, Nunez told French broadcaster CNews on Wednesday.
He said 24 people were detained. “This mobilization will be prolonged for as long as necessary,” the police chief said as he called for “calm.”
“We have to respect the principle of the presumption of innocence,” he added.
BROADER POLICE CONCERNS
However, the shooting underscored longstanding accusations of police brutality, especially in Paris’s poorer suburbs, often home to people from immigrant backgrounds.
Tuesday’s killing added to nationwide concern and sparked widespread messages of anger and condolences on social media.
French soccer star Kylian Mbappe, for instance, wrote on social platform Twitter: “I hurt for my France.”
As protests spread, lawyers for the victim’s family said they intended to file complaints against the officer who fired the lethal shot and another officer at the scene.
And Nael’s mother took to social media calling for people to join her at a march in Nanterre on Thursday, saying: “Please, let’s revolt for my son.”
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