Officials disclosed on Thursday, 29 June 2023 that a French police officer who shot and killed a 17-year-old driver will be investigated for voluntary homicide.
The shooting which resulted in the death of Nahel M, a teenager of North African descent, during a traffic stop in Nanterre on Tuesday, June 27, 2023, has sparked two nights of rioting across France.
Clashes first erupted on Tuesday night. Multiple vehicles and bins 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 stories 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.
Gerald Darmanin, the Interior Minister, announced that at least 40,000 police, will be deployed on Thursday evening to deal with any further protests. Darmanin stated that 170 officers were injured in last night’s clashes and180 people were arrested.
“This wasn’t about small protest. It was about a small group of people deciding to attack the symbols of the republic… When you attack schools or community centres or city halls, you attack symbols,” Darmanin said, vowing to restore “justice, calm and freedom”.
The incident has spurred debate in France about police tactics amid longstanding criticism from rights groups about the treatment of people in low-income suburbs, particularly ethnic minorities.
On Thursday, Nanterre prosecutor, Pascal Prache provided a summary of the incidents that led to Nahel’s death on Tuesday morning, beginning with the time that two policemen on motorcycles spotted the BMW car with a Polish license plate and attempted to stop it for a check due to the driver’s erratic driving and young age.
The vehicle, in which three people were travelling, refused to comply and started speeding past a red light.
A chase ensued, the prosecutor said, adding that the vehicle committed various traffic violations and endangered pedestrians. Eventually, the policemen again ordered the driver to stop. When the driver did not, the policemen shot him.
An ambulance was called, but the driver; Nahel was declared dead at 09.15. The policeman who shot Nahel turned himself in and was detained.
One of the passengers was found later in the afternoon; the other is still being sought by police. Prache said that an inquiry is still open against Nahel too, for resisting arrest.
Based on an initial investigation, Prache said, he concluded that “the conditions for the legal use of the weapon were not met.”
Two magistrates have been named to lead the investigation, Prache said. Under the French legal system, which differs from the U.S. and British systems, magistrates are often assigned to lead investigations.
Macron Holds Emergency Security Meeting
Also on Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron held an emergency security meeting about the violence.
“These acts are totally unjustifiable,” Macron said at the beginning of the meeting. The meeting was aimed at securing hot spots and planning for the coming days “so full peace can return.”
Macron also said it was time for “remembrance and respect” as Nahel’s mother called for a silent march on Thursday in his honor on the square where he was killed.
French activists have reaffirmed their calls for action against what they see to be widespread police brutality, particularly in areas like the one where Nahel lived where many people experience poverty and racial or class discrimination.
Government representatives denounced the killing and made an effort to distance themselves from the police officer’s actions.
READ ALSO:UN Report Accuses Moscow Of Torture And Killing Detainees
