The French government has deployed 40,000 police officers and several municipalities have imposed curfews to prevent protests over Nahel’s death from turning into violence for a third consecutive night. The 17-year-old was killed on Tuesday during a traffic check in Nanterre, with a video contradicting the version of the officer who fired the fatal shot. About 6,000 people demanded justice this Thursday, in a “white march” that ended in confusion and prompted authorities to use tear gas. However, the officer, who claims to have acted in self-defense, was charged with voluntary manslaughter and was taken into custody.
The 17-year-old’s mother, dressed in a white T-shirt that reads “Justice for Nahel” and the date of his death, led the march from a pickup truck. According to police, some 6,200 people took part in the action, which passed by the scene where the teenager was killed. The march started peacefully but turned violent. (Several vehicles and bins were set on fire), with riot police resorting to tear gas to disperse the crowd. According to the authorities, among the demonstrators there were “a thousand disruptors who caused the degeneration of the march”.
To prevent overnight violence from reoccurring as it has seen over the past two nights, the French government has deployed 40,000 officers – almost four times more than on Wednesday night. Five thousand will be sent to Paris alone. Clamart, a town of 54,000 on the outskirts of the capital, has imposed a curfew until Monday, while other municipalities have only imposed the measure on minors under 16 years old. In the entire Île-de-France region (including Paris), no buses or trams would run from 9 p.m. – at least 11 buses were set on fire from Wednesday to Thursday.
“We will do everything we can to restore order,” said Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin. The right-wing opposition defended declaring a state of emergency, as then-President Jacques Chirac did in 2005 to deal with protests following the deaths of two young people as they fled the police. But that measure is not on the table.
During a meeting of the crisis cabinet in the early hours of the morning, French President Emmanuel Macron found the violent actions during the night “unjustifiable”. In addition to the burned-out vehicles, police stations and schools were also attacked. According to Darmanin, 150 people were detained for “unbearable violence against symbols of the Republic”, with the minister thanking the work of police and firefighters responding to violence and vandalism.
prosecution and arrest
The fatal shot that killed Nahel was fired around 8:15 a.m. Tuesday, after the young man reportedly refused to stop the car he was driving after being speeded by two officers, who were on a motorcycle, on a lane reserved for buses. . According to Nanterre’s prosecutor Pascal Prache, he initially refused to stop when stopped at a red light, but was later forced to do so due to traffic. At that point, the two officers drew their guns and told him to turn off the car, and one of them, 38, fired when it started again.
Prache said he believed the legal conditions for police use of the weapon had not been met and that the prosecutor’s office had asked for the officer to be taken into custody – a rare situation in these cases. The unions are fighting this decision, accusing the government of “interference” and “pressure” that endanger the independence of the judiciary.
An amendment to the Police Use of Firearms Act, passed in 2017, establishes that officers may resort to using guns if they believe drivers may endanger their lives or the physical integrity of others. However, they should only be used in cases of “absolute necessity”. Last year, 13 people died in traffic checks. The deputies of “A França Insubmissa have already introduced a bill to repeal the 2017 legislation, as it gave “authorization to kill”
Source: DN
