Violent protests spread in France after police kill teenage boy during traffic stop

June 29

13:40 2023

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Anger is spreading in France, triggered by the death of a 17-year-old boy identified as Naël.

He was shot and killed by a police officer during a traffic stop in Nanterre, a French town.

The police officer who killed Naël was placed under formal investigation for voluntary homicide on Thursday, as the government raced to quell the protests that have continued for two days.

Police initially reported that an officer had shot at the teenager because he was driving his car towards him, but a video circulating on social media contradicted the account.

In the video, Naël was pulled over by two police officers for “breaking traffic rules” while driving a yellow Mercedes.

The footage shows two police officers standing by the side of the stationary car, with one pointing a weapon at the driver.

A voice is heard saying: “You are going to get a bullet in the head”. The police officer then appears to fire as the car drives off.

The car accelerated a few metres before crashing, with the driver dying shortly afterwards.

Pascal Prache, the prosecutor, said a bullet penetrated Naël’s arm and chest.

According to Prache, the officer who shot the teenager said he was scared the boy would run someone over with the car and was motivated by “fear of being hit by the vehicle when it started up again, or of seeing his colleague further inside the vehicle injured by the car’s movement”.

PROTESTS ACROSS FRANCE

Incensed by the events, citizens took to the streets of France, burning down a school, setting cars on fire and ransacking shops across the Paris region.

A prison in Fresnes, south of the capital, was also reportedly attacked with fireworks by rioters.

At least 40,000 police officers have been deployed across France to quell the protests, with no fewer than 180 people arrested in connection with the riots so far.

French President Emmanuel Macron said the shooting of Naël was “unforgivable” and “inexcusable” but called for calm in the country, saying government agencies were on top of the situation.

“Clearly, the emotion that comes with the death of a young man calls for contemplation and calm, and it’s what the government has constantly called for. I think this is what should continue to guide the next hours and the tributes,” he said.