France’s President Emmanuel Macron has convened a crisis meeting with senior ministers after riots spread across the country in the wake of the police killing of a 17-year-old boy.
Police arrested 150 people overnight as the unrest over death of the teenager – identified as Nahel – during a traffic stop in the Paris suburb of Nanterre reached other cities.
Police and firefighters struggled to contain protesters and extinguish numerous blazes through the night that damaged schools, police stations and town halls or other public buildings, according to a spokesperson for the national police. They also reported fires or skirmishes in multiple cities overnight, from Toulouse in the south to Lille in the north, though the nexus of tensions was Nanterre. More than half of those arrested were in the Paris region.
"The last few hours have been marked by scenes of violence against police stations but also schools and town halls, and thus institutions of the Republic and these scenes are wholly unjustifiable," Mr Macron said. He said the meeting was aimed at securing hot spots and planning for coming days "so full peace can return".
The killing of Nahel – who is of North African descent – during the stop, parts of which were captured on video, shocked the country and stirred up long-simmering tensions about the attitude of the police, particularly in the ethnically diverse suburbs of France's big cities.
A clip of the incident showed two police officers leaning into the driver-side window of a yellow car. One officer fired into the window before the vehicle pulled. The car then crashed into a post nearby.
The victim, who was driving the car, sustained a gunshot wound 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.
Police forces clash with youths in Nanterre, outside Paris, Thursday, 29 June 2023— (AP)
A police officer is being investigated for voluntary homicide for shooting Nahel. Prosecutors say the boy failed to comply with an order to stop his car.
Clashes first erupted on Tuesday night in Nanterre, a town west of Paris, and nearby, with violence resuming on Wednesday after nightfall
Seven burnt out vehicles are seen outside the municipal police building following violence in Neuilly-sur-Marne on 29 June 2023— (AFP via Getty Images)
According to AFP, a prison in Fresnes was also attacked by rioters, with at least 20 men attacked the jail entrance with fireworks and projectiles.
Around 2,000 riot police were deployed to Paris and suburbs on Wednesday, said Mr Darmanin.
Multiple vehicles were set ablaze in Nanterre and protesters shot fireworks and threw stones at police, who fired repeated volleys of tear gas. Flames shot out of three floors of a building, and a blaze was reported at an electrical plant. Fire damaged the town hall of the Paris suburb of L’Ile-Saint-Denis, not far from France‘s national stadium and the headquarters of the Paris 2024 Olympics.
French soccer star Kylian Mbappe tweeted: "I hurt for my France."
Smoke rises from a bonfire in a residential area during clashes in Toulouse, southwestern France on 28 June 2023— (AFP via Getty Images)
Mr Macron also said it is time for "remembrance and respect" as Nahel's mother called for a silent march on Thursday in his honour on the square where he was killed.
French activists renewed calls to tackle what they see as systemic police abuse, particularly in neighborhoods like the one where Nael lived, where many residents struggle with poverty and racial or class discrimination.
The government officials including the president earlier condemned the killing of the teen.
Mr Macron earlier described the death as “inexplicable and inexcusable” and said “nothing justifies” a young person being killed. He however, called for calm and said the judiciary would do its work.
In a Twitter post earlier on Wednesday, Mr Macron said he shared the pain of Nael’s family while also urging “calm and respect”. He however, appeared to soften his language towards the police somewhat, as he expressed gratitude to the forces of law and order who “protect us”.
Smoke rises from a car set ablaze during protests in Nanterre, west of Paris, on the early hours of 29 June 2023— (AFP via Getty Images)
Speaking to parliament, the prime minister Elisabeth Borne said: “The shocking images broadcast yesterday show an intervention that appears clearly not to comply with the rules of engagement of our police forces”.
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.
Tuesday’s killing was the third fatal shooting during traffic stops in France so far in 2023. Last year there were a record 13 such shootings, a spokesperson for the national police said.
There were three such killings in 2021 and two in 2020, according to a Reuters tally, which shows the majority of victims since 2017 were Black or of Arab origin.
Asked about allegations of police abuses, Mr Macron said justice should be allowed to run its course.
Additional reporting from Reuters and the Associated Press
