Rabat – Tensions erupted in the “Vieux Pont” neighborhood of Nanterre in the late afternoon in response to police brutality that resulted in the death of an Algerian teenager.
A police officer shot the 17-year-old on Tuesday morning. The police approached a Mercedes vehicle for a check when, according to the police’s version, one of the two officers positioned himself in front of the vehicle to stop it.
The driver allegedly drove toward the officer, and the officer used his weapon, firing a shot. The point-blank bullet hit the young man in the chest.
The police officer’s version was contradicted by a video posted on social media, showing the vehicle at a standstill, being checked by two police officers. One of the officers is positioned near the driver’s window, aiming his weapon at the victim. When the car starts moving again, the officer opens fire.
Calls for justice
Protesters took to the streets late Wednesday afternoon a few hundred meters from the victim’s home. Local authorities responded by reinforcing the police presence in the area.
According to a journalist from BFMTV, the violent protests resulted in bus shelters being destroyed, and garbage bins and vehicles set on fire on the road.
As angry protesters filled the streets, reports indicate that the neighborhood become covered in heavy smoke amid security concerns of a potential explosion as the reports point out protesters had gas bottles on site. Protesters equally set a number of pallets and construction huts on fire.
Overnight, police forces have arrested 13 individuals. A number of protesters report having sustained injuries due to police violence, with one person, who was injured in the eye during the clashes, claiming to have been a victim of LBD (defense ball launcher) shot. It is not known at this time whether the person was hit by a defense ball launcher or thrown projectiles.
The death of the teenager triggered widespread anger, prompting local residents to fill the streets in protest.
Around fifty people gathered in front of the Nanterre police station in the late afternoon. During the gathering, they chanted anti-police slogans.
In the wake of the tragedy, French President, Emmanuel Macron said that he wants “justice to be served” adding that “Nothing, absolutely nothing, justifies the death of a young person,” while referring to “the emotion of the entire nation.”
Other prominent figures have taken to social media to denounce the heinous crime. Famous French football player Kylian Mbappe wrote on Twitter:
“I feel pain from my France
An unacceptable situation
My thoughts go to the family and the close ones of Nael, the small angel who passed away too soon”
J’ai mal à ma France.
Une situation inacceptable.
Tout mes pensées vont pour la famille et les proches de Naël, ce petit ange parti beaucoup trop tôt.— Kylian Mbappé (@KMbappe) June 28, 2023
French PM David Guiraud also took to social media, calling for justice for the young man in a tweet that reads:
“I do not call for calm. I call for justice for Nael. Neighborhood residents know. They know that without the video the policeman would have lied, and got nothing. As for the roubaisien Amine Leknoun killed last year, and whose investigation still skates miserably.”
Je n’appelle pas au calme. J’appelle à la justice pour Naël.
Les habitants des quartiers savent. Ils savent que sans la vidéo le policier aurait menti, et rien eu. Comme pour le roubaisien Amine Leknoun tué l’année dernière, et dont l’enquête patine encore lamentablement. pic.twitter.com/CSmH5F5Pg4
— David Guiraud (@GuiraudInd) June 28, 2023
Many observers see the incident as a culminating point for ongoing far-right political rhetoric that incites hatred and causes a spike in hate crimes against non-white citizens in France regardless of their immigration status.
Read Also: UN Rebukes Discrimination Against Migrants and Police Violence in France
