Fresh clashes broke out in a Paris suburb on Thursday evening, where thousands of people had gathered for a march to remember a French teen killed by police during a traffic stop. The officer has been charged with homicide, but public anger over the shooting of 17-year-old Nahel M. is expected to fuel a third night of violence.
The memorial march led by Nahel's mother in the suburb of Nanterre started peacefully but ended in unrest, as people on the sidelines hurled objects and set cars alight. Police in riot gear fired tear gas back.
Some 40,000 officers are being deployed across France as the country braces for more turmoil following an incident that has revived long-standing concerns over police tactics.
The teenager was shot in the chest at point-blank range in Nanterre on Tuesday. Police initially reported that an officer had shot the teenager because he was driving straight at him, but this was contradicted by video footage circulating on social media.
The police officer involved has been formally charged with voluntary homicide and remanded in custody, prosecutors said on Thursday afternoon.
Buses cancelled, local curfew
More than 6,000 people turned up for the march in memory of the victim, according to a police count.
"The whole world must see that when we march for Nahel, we march for all those who were not filmed," activist Assa Traoré, whose brother died after being arrested in 2016, told the rally.
Nahel's mother Mounia waved at the crowds from an open-top truck wearing a white t-shirt with the slogan "Justice for Nahel 27/06/23". The protest went from the family's housing estate to the local police station, where the clashes took place.
They came after two nights of unrest in which cars were torched, buildings vandalised and nearly 200 people arrested.
With protests expected to continue into Thursday night, bus and tram services in and around Paris will be reduced over the evening and halted altogether from 9:00 pm, said the president of the surrounding Ile de France region, Valerie Pecresse.
After several trams and buses were targeted at Wednesday's protests, the decision was made "to ensure the protection of staff and passengers", she posted on Twitter.
Metro and overground train services were expected to run as normal, according to public transport operator RATP.
Another suburb of Paris, Clamart to the south-west, declared a weekend curfew in response to Wednesday's unrest. Its 50,000 residents will have to remain indoors between 9:00 pm and 6:00 am from Thursday until Monday, the mayor's office said.
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin has ordered a massive police presence across France on Thursday. He said that 170 security personnel had been injured in clashes with protesters overnight Wednesday that resulted in 180 arrests.
"This wasn't about small protest. It was about a small group of people deciding to attack the symbols of the republic," he said, referring to vandalism directed at public buildings including city offices and schools.
Violence erupted after midnight on Wednesday in the Paris region, where around 2,000 riot police had been deployed. Unrest was reported in other French cities, including Toulouse, Dijon and Lyon.
Police tactics under scrutiny
The prosecutor for Nanterre told a press conference on Thursday that the police officer who shot Nahel did not meet the "legal conditions for the usage of firearms", according to a preliminary investigation.
Prosecutor Pascal Prache said the officer is being investigated for intentional homicide.
The incident has reignited debate in France about police tactics long criticised by rights groups over the treatment of people in low-income suburbs, particularly ethnic minorities.
"It's the final straw. We can't put up with it anymore," Corinne, a black resident of Nanterre in her 40s, told French news agency AFP. "It's always the same people who get killed."
"Everyone hates the police!", people chanted at the rally on Thursday, along with "Justice for Nahel!".
A record 13 people were killed by police during traffic stops in France last year.
Another policeman was charged with voluntary manslaughter on Wednesday in the south-western city of Angouleme, after he shot and killed a black 19-year-old supermarket employee as he drove to work earlier this month.
(with AFP)
