Unrest broke out in a Paris suburb on Tuesday night after a 17-year-old was shot dead by police during a traffic stop, with protesters setting fire to vehicles and allegedly launching fireworks toward riot officers.
The prosecutor’s office in Nanterre, west of the French capital, said the police officer had been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter in the wake of the shooting. The teenager, named only as “Nahel M,” died from his injuries in the suburb, the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
Another passenger in the car was also detained before being released soon after, with authorities on Wednesday still looking for another passenger they say fled the scene on foot. In a statement, the Nahel’s lawyers denied an allegation reportedly made by police in a statement that officers’ lives had been at risk because the driver had threatened to run them over.
ADVERTISEMENT
The attorneys also highlighted a video purportedly showing the shooting. The footage shows two officers leaning into the driver’s side of a yellow car stopped in the road. One of the police appears to be pointing a firearm at the driver. The car then starts to drive away, at which point one of the officers fires a single shot. The clip then later shows the yellow car with its doors open after crashing into a post.
The AFP news agency also reported that one person in the video can be heard shouting, “You’re going to be shot in the head,” but it’s not clear who was speaking. Local reports say the boy died from gunshot wounds to the chest despite receiving aid from emergency services.
Locals in Nanterre staged a protest outside the police headquarters, according to the Associated Press. Local media broadcast intense footage as the demonstrations later became violent, with some groups launching fireworks and setting fire to barricades and dumpsters. Riot police fired tear gas and dispersion grenades at some protesters in an attempt to break up the protests, according to reports.
“We have an adolescent that was killed, it is unexplainable and inexcusable,” French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters on Wednesday in a rare open criticism of law enforcement actions. “Nothing justifies the death of a young man,” he added, according to Reuters.
Gérald Darmanin, the French interior minister, announced that 2,000 police and gendarmes will be mobilized throughout the suburbs of Paris to maintain order on Wednesday night. He said 31 people had been arrested in the first clashes while 24 law enforcement personnel were slightly injured, with an estimated 40 cars set ablaze.
The deadly incident on Tuesday was the second fatal police shooting in France so far this year, down from a record 13 in 2022.
