French President Emmanuel Macron, Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne and seven government ministers met this Sunday night for an emergency meeting to address the riots sparked by the death of a teenager shot by police in Nanterre.
The meeting, which was not included in the presidential agenda, carried out a “review of the situation” and an “update of the situation”, reported sources from the Elysée (French Presidency) quoted by French media and international agencies.
Among those present were the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, and the Minister of Justice, Éric Dupont-Moretti.
The objective of the meeting is to underline the “firmness” and unity of the Government with the presence of seven ministers in the face of the violence that has been unleashed in the main cities of the country since last Tuesday, according to international organizations.
Hours before this meeting, the French Government had once again announced the mobilization of 45,000 police officers to face the protests that have been taking place in the country for several consecutive nights, after the death of the young Nahel Merzouk, which occurred last Tuesday in Nanterre, on the outskirts of Paris.
Nahel, 17, was killed on Tuesday by police after a traffic control operation.
The Public Ministry said that the young man was driving in the bus lane, having been detained by the police, but did not comply with the order.
One of the officers fired at Nahel, hitting him in the arm and chest.
The police officer suspected of the young man’s death is charged with murder and is in custody.
Nahel’s funeral took place on Saturday in Nanterre, with a private wake, a ceremony at the mosque and burial in a local cemetery, attended by several hundred people.
The young man’s grandmother called on the protesters today to stop the riots, after five nights of riots.
“I want all this to end. I ask people who are destroying things to stop. Don’t destroy schools,” Nahel M.’s grandmother, identified as Nadia, told BFMTV.
Nadia accused some of the protesters of using her grandson’s death as an excuse to destroy the country.
“Don’t destroy the schools, don’t destroy the buses,” he reinforced.
The French government asked today to avoid generalizations about the French police and assured that, in case of abuse, justice will investigate.
At least 718 people were arrested and 45 police officers were injured in the fifth consecutive night of riots in France.
In a publication on his personal account on the social network Twitter, the French Interior Minister, Gérard Darmanin, indicated that, despite the incidents, the night from Saturday to today was calmer than the previous ones, a fact that, in his opinion , is due to a greater presence of security forces in the streets.
Source: TSF
