PARIS. The violent protest in Paris after the death of Nahel, the 17-year-old killed in Nanterre by a gunshot fired by a policeman at a checkpoint. In the jurisdiction of the prefecture of Paris alone (the capital and the three departments of the inner suburbs), 77 people were arrested (at least 150 considering all the hotbeds of protest). More than double the number of people stranded across France from the previous night were arrested, a sign that the unrest has escalated, but also that the reaction of the forces of order has been more intense. The French president, Emmanuel Macron, speaks of “unjustifiable violence” and has convened the inter-ministerial crisis unit, while the authorities hope to contain the fury that has flared up in the banlieues thanks to the developments of the investigations. A white march will be held today where the tragedy occurred, but the crescendo of urban violence is spreading to Lyon, Toulouse, Dijon, Nice, Roubaix, Amiens, Lille.
17-year-old killed, in Paris, fires, clashes with police and looting in second night of protests
On Twitter, the Interior Minister speaks of “a night of unbearable violence against the symbols of the Republic: town halls, schools and police stations burned or attacked” and gives his “support to the police, gendarmes and firefighters who face the situation with courage ». He adds: “Shame on those who have not called for calm”. The town hall of Mons-en-Barœul, near Lille, was partially burned, reports the mayor of the city, Rudy Elegeest, explaining that on Wednesday evening about fifty hooded people fired on the town hall using fireworks. The “shooting” ended around 4.30 in the morning: “We escaped the worst, because inside there were three agents who hid to escape this terrible violence and flames,” said Elegeest. The damage to the structure is “absolutely considerable”. The ground floor of the town hall is totally devastated, the mayor underlined, also speaking of car fires.
In the various cities where the revolt is growing, shops have also been set on fire, with some cases of looting and damage to public buildings. In Fresnes, a prison was attacked with paper bombs fired from pyrotechnic mortars, while a tram was burned in Clamart.
“The next few hours must lead to meditation and respect”, President Macron is now launching the appeal, hoping that the white march scheduled for 2 pm in Nanterre in front of the Hauts-de-Seine prefecture “will take place under this sign”. He asked for “the protection of all institutional places” and said that the crisis unit must “organize the next few days so that complete calm returns”.
In all this situation there remains, obviously and mainly, the drama of the seventeen year old killed. Drama that continued to generate a flood of political comments, yesterday, throughout the day. The shocking images posted on social media show a police intervention “which clearly does not respect the rules of engagement of our law enforcement agencies,” said Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne. Macron spoke of an “inexplicable” and “unforgivable” act. At the request of the President of the Republic, the delegate minister for the city, Olivier Klein, has already spoken to the boy’s mother to offer her “the government’s condolences” and assure her of “the support of the nation”.
France, policeman shoots and kills 17-year-old in a car in Nanterre: the scene filmed by a passer-by
The tragedy occurred near the Nanterre-Prefecture RER station, following a road check. The video circulated on social media shows one of the two police officers involved holding the young driver at gunpoint, then shooting him at point blank range. In the video you hear “they shoot you in the head”, and now the investigation must ascertain whether that sentence is attributable to the 38-year-old policeman who then shot the boy. Nahel died shortly after being shot in the chest. The agent was stopped and questioned by the General Inspectorate of the National Police: the detention was extended “with a view to the opening of judicial information scheduled for Thursday (today, ed)», indicated the prosecution at the end of the day. “We will take administrative suspension decisions if charges are ever brought against him,” Darmanin announced.
The case has reignited controversy over law enforcement action in France, where a record 13 deaths were recorded in 2022 after refusing to comply with traffic controls.
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