Riots that raged across Paris on Monday continued into Tuesday after a 17-year-old French-Algerian teenager was allegedly shot and killed by a police officer. Police and rioters clashed in the cities of Lille and Toulouse. Violence also erupted in Amiens, Dijone and the Essonne.
Cars were torched in the Parisian working class suburb of Nanterre and protesters shot fireworks at police. "Shortly before midnight, a trail of overturned vehicles burned as fireworks fizzed at police lines on Nanterre's Avenue Pablo Picasso," Reuters reported.
President Emmanuel Macron said that the shooting was "unexplainable and inexcusable." Systemic racism in law enforcement was to blame, said many French human rights groups.
Reports have emerged that a police officer fatally shot Nael M. during a traffic stop, after allegedly telling the teen: “I’m going to lodge a bullet in your head.”
The Daily Mail reported that before video footage of the incident surfaced, the authorities claimed they opened fire after the teenager rammed them with his car. Witnesses described the horrific scene as an “execution,” which led to youths taking to the streets, launching fireworks at police and setting bins on fire.
Cars and buildings were also torched, and the violence spread into the surrounding suburbs. By Tuesday morning, at least 31 people had been arrested in the riots. The police officer in question was reportedly taken into custody, with the Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin urging people to stay calm.
“We have an adolescent that was killed, it is unexplainable and inexcusable,” French President Emmanuel Macron said. “Nothing justifies the death of a young man.”
Darmanin told the National Assembly in Paris that the footage spread across social media was “extremely shocking and worrying,” but he urged people to presume innocence of the officer until more information is known.
The shooting apparently happened near the Nanterre-Prefecture RER train station, around Nelson-Mandela Square.
A video of the shooting shows a police officer pointing a firearm into a yellow Mercedes AMG, reportedly saying: “I’m going to lodge a bullet in your head.”
A bang is heard and the car plunges forward. Nael was confirmed dead around 9 am, 30 minutes after the incident. There were reportedly two others in the vehicle with him at the time.
Prosecutors said that the unnamed officer faces a murder investigation. Officers have claimed that the 17-year-old was driving erratically, but there is conflicting information on the series of events.
One investigative source said: “At first police said the teenager had tried to run them over, but they changed their tune when the video appeared.”
