France is struggling to recover from a fourth consecutive night of riots, instigated by the police shooting of Nahel M, a teenager of Algerian and Moroccan heritage. As his family plans his funeral in the Parisian suburb of his death, the country braces for more unrest.
In response to what is seen as the biggest crisis under President Emmanuel Macron since the 2018 “Yellow Vest” protests, the government has dispatched 45,000 police officers and numerous armoured vehicles. The French interior ministry reported 1,311 arrests, an increase from the previous night’s 875, yet noted a slight decrease in violence intensity.
#France was reeling on Saturday from a fourth night of rioting. The government deployed 45,000 police and several armoured vehicles overnight to tackle the worst crisis of President Emmanuel Macron's leadership since the "Yellow Vest" protests. https://t.co/Rd4h4wt3Io
— Share_Talk ™ (@Share_Talk) July 1, 2023
Nahel M, 17, was shot during a traffic stop last Tuesday in Nanterre, a suburb of Paris. Bus traffic in the area remained suspended on a quiet, wet Saturday morning following more overnight riots.
About 30 young men watched over the entrance to the Nanterre funeral parlour, requesting no photographs be taken. As people gathered at a nearby mosque for the funeral, one man from the group told Reuters, “We’re not part of Nahel’s family and didn’t know him, but we felt deeply affected by the event.”
Nahel’s shooting, which was recorded on video, has stirred up age-old grievances about police violence and racism in economically disadvantaged and ethnically diverse urban communities. Despite these claims, President Macron has refuted the existence of systemic racism within French law enforcement.
Nationwide unrest has led to vandalized buildings and vehicles, looted stores, and spread to cities like Marseille, Lyon, Toulouse, Strasbourg, and Lille. More than 200 officers have been injured, and hundreds of rioters arrested, most of them averaging 17 years old.
The unrest is reminiscent of the 2005 nationwide riots triggered by the accidental electrocution of two young men hiding from police in a power station. That crisis forced then-President Jacques Chirac to declare a state of emergency.
As the nation grapples with the riot aftermath, key public figures and institutions have responded. The national soccer team issued a call for calm on star player Kylian Mbappe’s Instagram account, stating that violence must cease to allow for mourning, dialogue, and rebuilding. Macron, in the meantime, left an EU summit prematurely to attend a cabinet crisis meeting and requested social media platforms to remove footage that could incite further violence.
The crisis has impacted many areas of public life, with concerts and major events cancelled, public transport halted, and shops and vehicles damaged or destroyed. Despite this, the Tour de France organizers announced their readiness to adapt to the unfolding situation.
The fatal shooting of Nahel M, and subsequent rioting, have prompted tourists to express a mix of fear and support for the protests. The U.N. rights office in Geneva urged France to ensure non-discriminatory use of force by police, while France maintained that allegations of systemic discrimination in its law enforcement agencies are baseless.
The officer responsible for Nahel’s shooting, now under formal investigation for voluntary homicide, is in preventative custody. His attorney insists that his client intended to shoot Nahel in the leg, but the car’s sudden movement caused him to shoot the young man in the chest.”
