Cherine knew Nahel Merzouk, the 17-year-old killed by police in France on Tuesday, and despite criticizing the protests that erupted, he took them as a warning of “the consequences” of impunity for the security forces.
On the day of Nahel’s funeral, the streets of Nanterre are almost empty, but there are still traces of the violence that has devastated the community in recent days.
The reason was the murder of Nahel Merzouk on Tuesday morning.
The 17-year-old was shot by a police officer while driving his car after allegedly ignoring a stop order for traffic violations.
The smell of burnt rubber still permeates some of Nanterre’s arteries and what remains of the rubbish bins now mingles with the road tar.
The owners of café “Brunch & Cakes” did not open today, unlike last Saturday.
There is glass everywhere, inside and outside the establishment, and only the bricked-up windows prevent further looting. They only came in to continue cleaning. That’s all they can do for now, not least because violence could return to the streets, and they lament being one of the indiscriminate targets of the violence that accompanied the demonstrations over Nahel’s death.
Funeral ceremonies for the boy of Moroccan descent who lived on the outskirts of Paris began at 11 a.m. local time (10 a.m. in Lisbon) in the most remote part of Nanterre.
Cherine, 19, is accompanied by a friend to pay her last respects to Nahel.
Knowing him, he told Lusa that he is “very sad and shocked” by what happened.
“This is extremely serious and will affect the way people view the police from now on,” he mused.
Asked about the violence that erupted following the protests against the security forces’ use of excessive force, Cherine replied that “it is not normal”, but she also defended that it is a passionate response to police impunity.
“I understand the anger of the people who live here! The police need to take a closer look at the consequences of their actions,” she noted visibly dismayed.
Cherine said goodbye and continued down the street to the funeral home, meeting other people along the way who had left their homes this morning for the same reason.
At the top of the street, family and friends stood in the rain waiting for the moment to pay their respects to Nahel’s mother.
Source: DN
