During almost a week of riots that shook France after the death of Nahel M., killed by police during a police traffic stop and seach, youth associations and elected representatives spent time with young people. Their presence helped lower tensions, but they say the situation remains fragile.
Lufiane N'Dongola, 42, recently spent three nights on the streets talking with young people in a working-class neighbourhood near the city hall of Vitry-sur-Seine, a city in the southeastern suburbs of Paris. Vitry-sur-Seine and other cities across France experienced nearly a week of riots following the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Nahel by a police officer on June 27 in Nanterre – another western Paris suburb – during a police traffic stop.
