2023-06-28 09:00:04
NANTERRE, France (AP) — The French government announced Wednesday that it will strengthen police presence around Paris and other large cities and called for calm following violent incidents that followed the death of a 17-year-old delivery man. years by police shots during a control.
The death sparked worldwide concern and sparked riots in several cities. Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said overnight riots left 31 detainees, injured 25 police officers and set 40 cars on fire.
The tensions centered on Nanterre, a suburb of Paris where, according to lawyers, 17-year-old Nael M. died on Tuesday during a traffic stop. The police officer suspected of shooting him has been arrested and faces possible manslaughter charges, according to the Nanterre prosecutor’s office.
The alleged videos about the incident are “extremely shocking,” Darmanin said, vowing a thorough investigation. The footage shows two officers leaning out of the driver’s window of a yellow car, before the car drives away as one of the officers shoots at the glass. The vehicle is later seen crashing into a nearby pole.
“I call for calm and truth,” said Darmanin.
According to the minister, 1,200 policemen were deployed overnight and 2,000 will participate in the operation on Wednesday in the Paris region and in the vicinity of other large cities to “maintain order.”
The lethal use of firearms is less common in France than in the United States. Tuesday’s death sparked anger in Nanterre and other cities, especially around state housing blocks where many residents struggle with poverty and discrimination and believe police abuse often goes unpunished.
A lawyer for Nael’s family, Yassine Bouzrou, told The Associated Press that they want the officer charged with murder rather than manslaughter, and want the investigation moved to another region because they fear investigators in Nanterre will not be impartial.
The government will hold a security meeting on Wednesday afternoon to discuss further measures, Darmanin added.
The victim suffered a gunshot wound and died at the scene of the incident, the prosecutor’s office said in a statement. A passenger in the car was briefly detained and released, and police were searching for another hit-and-run passenger.
Several people have been killed or injured at the hands of French police in recent years, prompting calls for greater accountability. France has also registered protests against racial persecution and other injustices after the death of George Floyd at the hands of the police in Minnesota in 2020.
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