Nanterre, France (AP) – French streets were in chaos as demonstrators unleashed anger over the police shooting of a 17-year-old boy named Neher that shocked the country. During nighttime clashes, barricades were erected against police, arson, tear gas and firecrackers were set off. More than 600 people were arrested and more than 200 police officers were injured as the riots escalated for three nights in a row as the government tried to restore order.
Riots erupted in Nanterre, a northwestern suburb of Paris, resulting in a tragic shooting. An armored police vehicle bulldozed through the wreckage of a burnt and overturned car. At the same time, demonstrators from Clichy-sous-Bois set the city hall on fire and the Aubervilliers bus station ablaze.
In several districts of Paris, private groups threw firecrackers at security forces. A police station in the 12th arrondissement was attacked, and looting also occurred along Rue de Rivoli, near the famous Louvre Museum and at the Forum des Halles, the largest shopping center in central Paris.
Meanwhile, in the Mediterranean port city of Marseille, police attempted to disperse a violent gang in the city center, according to local authorities.
About 40,000 police officers were massively mobilized to quell the escalating protests. A total of 667 arrests were made, with 307 arrests in the Paris area alone, according to the Paris police headquarters.
Home Secretary Gerald Darmanin has condemned the night of “rare violence” and his office has highlighted a significant increase in arrests compared to previous operations. The government is trying to take a “very hardline” stance against the rioters, but has refrained from declaring a state of emergency. It was an earlier step to end weeks of unrest in France after the accidental death of two boys in 2005, after which police fled to quell it.
President Emmanuel Macron, who was attending the EU summit in Brussels on Friday, immediately returned to Paris to preside over an emergency security meeting and walked out of the event.
The police officer responsible for the shooting was provisionally charged with manslaughter because an initial investigation found “the conditions for the legal use of the weapon were not met,” according to prosecutor Pascal Plachet. It is said that it was done. The preliminary charges suggest that while the investigating judge has strong suspicions of wrongdoing, further investigation is needed before proceedings can begin.
The policeman’s lawyer, Laurent Franck Liénard, expressed his regret on behalf of his client in a television interview with French channel BFMTV. Learnard said the officer acted on what he felt was necessary at the time, stressing that he did not wake up that morning to cause harm. In accordance with French criminal procedure practice, the names of the officers have not been released.
The video of the shooting shocked the nation, reigniting long-standing tensions between police and housing projects and youth living in disadvantaged neighborhoods. Nehel’s mother, Mounia M., expressed anger at police officers who took the life of her only child, but generally did not hold them accountable. She accused the police of targeting her son because of his youth and Arab appearance. Mounia M urged the justice system to take a firm stand, stressing that police officers should never use guns to take the life of a child.
Algeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement expressing its grief with her family. Nahel’s grandmother was interviewed by Algerian television station Ennahar TV.
