More than €1 million (£860,000) has been raised for the family of a French police officer who shot dead a teenager at a traffic stop, an act that sparked riots across the country. That is far more than a similar campaign for the family of the boy killed.
The online fundraiser started by Jean Messiha, an independent right-wing populist and former adviser to Marine Le Pen, has attracted donations from more than 52,000 people, while a fund set up by the policeman’s colleagues has raised around €60,000.
The grandmother of Nahel Merzouk, 17, said she was heartbroken by the donations. “He took the life of my grandson. This man must pay, the same as everyone,” Nadia said to BFMTV about the officer.
"Jean Messiha is playing with fire," said MP Eric Bothorel, part of President Emmanuel Macron’s ruling party. He called the fundraiser "indecent and scandalous".
The justice minister, Eric Dupond-Moretti, said the fundraiser was “fuelling the fire” of unrest, describing it as a populist “instrumentalisation” of the teenager’s death.
Meanwhile, a fundraiser for the victim’s family has raised more than €200,000 from around 100,000 donations.
Nahel, who was of Algerian descent, was shot dead in his car by a police officer last Tuesday during a traffic check in Paris.
The 38-year-old officer has been charged with voluntary homicide and remanded in custody. He claims he had the right to fire his gun to protect himself, a colleague and other road users.
Prosecutor Pascal Prache concluded in an initial investigation that “the conditions for the legal use of the weapon were not met”.
Thousands of protesters have been arrested since fiery clashes first erupted on Tuesday night in and around the Paris suburb of Nanterre where the teenager was killed.
Protesters walk past a burnt out trash bin during clashes with police in Marseille— (AFP via Getty Images)
The family of the slain teen has pleaded for the unrest to “calm down” after council-run buildings including libraries and primary schools, and law enforcement stations were attacked, and vehicles and buildings were torched.
The aunt of the slain teen told The Independent: “The family is very much against the violence.
“But I hope that Nahel’s death is going to trigger some kind of change that means this never happens again.”
Criminal lawyer Carole-Olivia Monteno called the fundraiser for the officer “insulting” to Nahel’s family. “It only increases hate where there’s too much of it already, its completely inappropriate and politically it does nothing,” she said.
La France Insoumise MP Mathilde Panot also wrote: “Killing a young North African, in France in 2023, can earn you a lot of money.” While first secretary of the opposition Socialist Party Olivier Faure has called for it to be shut down.
French riot police officers walk next to a vehicle upside down— (REUTERS)
Itc omes after the home of a Paris mayor was raided and set alight on Sunday while his wife and children were inside sleeping.
Vincent Jeanbrun, who is in charge of the area of L’Hay-les-Roses in the southern suburbs, said rockets were thrown as the family fled from the burning house in what he has called an “assassination attempt”.
Mr Jeanbrun’s wife, Melanie Nowak, broke her leg as she attempted to flee through rocket fire and one of the couple’s two children was also injured.
Overnight, 297 vehicles were torched across France, along with 34 buildings. Some 157 people were arrested, down from a peak of 3,880 arrests during the fiery night of June 30.
More than 3,000 people have been detained overall since Nahel’s death. Hundreds of police and firefighters have also been injured in the violence, although authorities have not commented on how many protesters have been hurt.
