French president Emmanuel Macron has condemned the deadly shooting of a teenager by police in Paris, calling the death “inexplicable” and “unforgiveable”.
The 17-year-old was shot during a traffic stop on Tuesday and police are being accused of lying about the circumstances of the killing.
The shooting has sparked civil unrest in several Paris suburbs overnight, with dozens of cars and a school being set alight as police used tear gas to disperse protesters.
“A teenager was killed. That is inexplicable and unforgivable,” Mr Macron said on Wednesday during a visit to the city of Marseille.
The French president said the case had “moved the entire nation” and expressed “respect and affection” for the family of the victim, who has been named as Nael M.
"Nothing justifies the death of a young person," he told reporters in Marseille.
The victim was pulled over by two police officers in the suburb of Nanterre for breaking traffic rules, French prosecutors said.
Police initially reported that one officer shot at the teenager because he was driving his car at him, but this has allegedly been contradicted by a video circulating on social media.
The footage shows the two officers standing by the side of the stationary car, with one pointing a weapon at the driver, according to French media.
A 38-year-old police officer has been taken into custody and is under investigation for manslaughter, Nanterre prosecutor's office said.
One passenger was taken into custody but later released, and police were unable to hunt down another passenger, the prosecutor’s office said.
The driver was “known to the judicial services for having refused to comply with a traffic stop” on a previous occasion, it said.
This is the second fatal shooting during a traffic stop in France this year. Last year there was a record 13 deaths from police shootings during traffic stops.
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said that 31 people had been arrested overnight, 24 police injured and around 40 cars torched.
Mr Darmanin added that 2,000 police would be deployed “so that public order is maintained” in the Paris region.
He said the General Inspectorate of the National Police was investigating “to shed light on the circumstances of this drama.”
Paris police chief Laurent Nunez told BFM TV that “this act raises questions for me” and that the justice system would decide whether or not it was appropriate.
A lawyer for Nael M's family, Yassine Bouzrou, told The Associated Press they want the police officer pursued for murder instead of manslaughter, and want the investigation handed to a different region because they fear Nanterre investigators won't be impartial.
The lawyers refuted a reported statement by the police that their lives were in danger because the driver had threatened to run them over.
French football star Kylian Mbappe, who grew up in the Paris suburb of Bondy, was among those who were shocked by what happened.
"I hurt for my France. Unacceptable situation. All my thoughts go to the family and loved ones of Nael, this little angel gone much too soon," he tweeted.
