2023-06-29 11:52:00
French President Macron called for calm following last night’s riots and condemned the violence. Tens of thousands of police officers are to be deployed across the country in the coming night.
Fire and danger of explosion in an electricity plant in Nanterre, a police station attacked in Trappes, a completely burned-out tram in Clamart, video cameras shot down with pump guns, a burning kindergarten, fire in town halls, garbage cans set on fire in the Paris area – the riots there last night were particularly special violent. “Justice for Nahel” was shouted and: “The police are killing.” This arrested dozens of people.
Anger over the deadly police operation once morest 17-year-old Nahel spread throughout France. Lille, Roubaix, Amiens, Dijon, Nice or Toulouse – more than 20 cities across France were affected. Some of the police cars, town halls and social centers were badly damaged. In Villeurbanne near Lyon, 35 people had to be brought to safety following their home caught fire from firecrackers. A total of 2,000 officers had been mobilized. 150 people were arrested.
Macron calls for calm and devotion
French President Emmanuel Macron went a few meters from the Elysée Palace to the Interior Ministry in the morning and opened a crisis team there. “Quietness and devotion should determine the next few hours and the memorial march in white,” he warned. The mother of the 17-year-old who was killed called for a memorial march in white. It should also be a sign of rebellion.
But there is obviously an attempt to take over the events, Macron warned. The past few hours have been marked “by scenes of violence once morest commissariats, but also once morest schools and town halls, i.e. once morest institutions and the republic”. Macron criticized: “There’s no justification for that.”
Police presence should be massively increased
French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin announced a “resolute” state response to the riots. Security measures would be massively strengthened across the country.
In the coming night, 40,000 police officers are to be deployed across France – more than four times as many as last night. 5,000 police officers alone are said to be on duty in the greater Paris area. In the night from Wednesday to Thursday there were 2,000 police officers in and around Paris, and according to the Archyde.com news agency there were around 9,000 emergency services nationwide. At least 170 police officers were injured, according to Darmanin, but no one was life-threatening.
Investigation into manslaughter
A formal investigation on suspicion of manslaughter was initiated once morest the police officer who is said to have fired the fatal shot at the 17-year-old, according to the public prosecutor in Nanterre. The accused is in custody.
Prosecutor Pascal Prache said the autopsy “confirmed a single shot” as the cause of death – through the left arm to the chest. No dangerous objects or drugs were found during the search of the car.
The course of events might be reconstructed on the basis of recordings from surveillance cameras, amateur videos and witness statements. The investigators are currently assuming that the legal requirements for the use of the firearm were not met. The 38-year-old police officer said he was in danger, including when the 17-year-old’s car hit him.
Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne made it very clear on Wednesday, without waiting for the investigation to begin: “The shocking images show an operation that obviously does not seem to conform to the rules for our security forces.”
Public dismay at the death of the 17-year-old
Nahel was a pizza delivery man, according to lawyers without a criminal record, but caught the eye with minor offenses such as driving without a license. He has played sport in a rugby club that works for social inclusion. The Ovale Citoyen club tweeted: “Nahel died in Nanterre. He had started an integration course with us. He wanted to build a new future for himself. More than ever we must work to give back a modicum of hope and get back to the to believe in equality in the Republic.”
Footballer Kylian Mbappé and actor Omar Sy also expressed concern regarding the youth’s death at the hands of police violence. On Wednesday, however, the right-wing police agency France Police poured oil on the fire. She tweeted: “Bravo to the colleagues who opened fire on a 17-year-old young criminal. By neutralizing his car, they saved their lives and those of other users of the road.”
Interior Minister Darmanin is now considering a ban on the group and describes it as unrepresentative. After the pension protests, France is slipping into a new phase of social unrest.
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