Police officers after protests against the death of a 17-year-old Image: AFP
The death of a 17-year-old driver during a police check has sparked angry protests in France. According to prosecutors, the 17-year-old driver of a rental car was stopped in the Paris suburb of Nanterre for violating traffic rules.
The death of a 17-year-old driver during a police check has sparked angry protests in France. According to the public prosecutor’s office, the driver of a rental car in the Paris suburb of Nanterre was stopped on Tuesday morning for violating several traffic rules. Clashes broke out in Nanterre and other communities in the evening, journalists from the AFP news agency reported. 15 people were arrested, as the authorities announced on Wednesday night.
In police circles, it was initially said that a car had hit two motorcycle police officers. However, a video circulating online networks, verified by AFP, showed two police officers trying to stop the vehicle. One of them points his gun at the driver through the window and fires at point-blank range as the car accelerates. After a few dozen meters, the car crashes into a post. The 17-year-old died a short time later despite attempts by rescue workers to revive him.
Authorities launched an investigation into failure to comply with an order and attempted murder of an official. Further investigations were initiated by the supreme police authority into intentional killing by an official. The 38-year-old police officer who allegedly fired the shot at the youth was taken into custody.
In several neighborhoods of Nanterre in the evening, there were clashes between residents who set off fireworks and security forces, who then used tear gas. Several fires were lit on the suburban train line between Nanterre and Rueil-Malmaison. At least three cars and several trash cans caught fire. According to the authorities, there were also isolated clashes in other Parisian suburbs.
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