Massive protests, clashes with the police and the vandalism of shops and cars continued in several cities across France during the night between Thursday and Friday following the killing of 17-year-old Nahel M. by the police. According to French media, more than 420 people were detained across the country. The protests and violence have been going on since Tuesday, the day of the murder of Nahel M., and are becoming an increasingly serious problem for the government of Emmanuel Macron.
A large peaceful demonstration was held on Thursday afternoon in Nanterre, the popular district in western Paris where Nahel M. had been killed, which was also attended by the boy’s family. Some hoped the peaceful march would appease the violent protests, which instead continued for the third night in a row. There were clashes with the police in numerous French cities: the most shouted and written slogans on the walls, he wrote The worldwere “justice for Nahel”, “revolt for Nahel”, “revenge for Nahel”.
In addition to the often violent protests, there have been looting and acts of vandalism almost everywhere. In fact, all the banlieues of Paris were affected by the clashes and violence, which then spread to other cities in the country. In Nanterre, dozens of cars and rubbish bins were set on fire, shops were destroyed in Paris, and a McDonald’s and an ATM were attacked in Montreuil, a municipality east of the capital. A library, shops and bars were vandalized in the city of Marseille. Supermarkets, cafés, shops and jewelers have been stormed all over the country. The clashes also spread to Brussels, the capital of Belgium.
Very often the police responded harshly, using batons and tear gas. In some banlieues of Paris, local administrations have imposed a night curfew, for now without too much success.
Emmanuel Macron will hold a crisis meeting with the government and representatives of the forces of order at 13: it is the second in a row after a similar meeting held on Thursday, following which he had defined the violence “unjustifiable”.
The boy killed was called Nahel M., and at the time of his death he was driving a car in which two other people were. Police initially said the vehicle was heading towards two officers on motorcycles with the intention of running them down.
But a 50-second video circulated on social media and verified by several French newspapers showed that one of the two policemen had looked out the window of the car (a yellow Mercedes AMG) on the driver’s side and had begun to argue animatedly, pointing a gun at him a few centimeters away. The policeman then allegedly shot Nahel M. in the heart as soon as the 17-year-old tried to leave. The car then crashed into a pole. Nahel M. died minutes later.