Boy shot dead by French police was ‘well-liked kid’ with ‘real potential’

The mother of killed 17-year-old Nahel attends a march on Thursday in Nanterre. She said: ‘He was my life, my best friend, my son. He was everything to me.’ Photograph: Michel Euler/AP

The 17-year-old boy shot dead during a police traffic stop in Nanterre on Tuesday was a “well-liked” only child raised by a single mother, who had been studying for an electrician’s certificate, according to French media.

Nahel M’s death has sparked violent unrest around France, with rioters on Wednesday setting public buildings ablaze, torching cars and clashing with police in cities from Lille to Toulouse and 150 people arrested.