On 27 June 2023, Nahel Merzouk (25 February 2006 – 27 June 2023), a
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
17-year-old of
Moroccan and
Algerian
Algerian may refer to:
* Something of, or related to Algeria
* Algerian people
This article is about the demographic features of the population of Algeria, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, econo ...
descent, was shot at
point-blank range
Point-blank range is any distance over which a certain firearm can hit a target without the need to compensate for bullet drop, and can be adjusted over a wide range of distances by sighting in the firearm. If the bullet leaves the barrel paral ...
and killed by police officer Florian M. in
Nanterre
Nanterre (, ) is the prefecture of the Hauts-de-Seine department in the western suburbs of Paris. It is located some northwest of the centre of Paris. In 2018, the commune had a population of 96,807.
The eastern part of Nanterre, bordering t ...
, a suburb of
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. Initial reporting on the incident (informed by police statements) was later contradicted by a video posted online, which led to
widespread protests and riots. Symbols of the state such as town halls, schools, police stations, and other buildings were attacked. The
Interior Ministry
An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs.
Lists of current ministries of internal affairs
Named "ministry"
* Ministry ...
reported that more than 5,000 vehicles had been set on fire, along with 10,000 garbage cans; nearly 1,000 buildings had been burnt, damaged or looted; 250 police stations and
gendarmerie
Wrong info! -->
A gendarmerie () is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (literally, ...
s had been attacked; and more than 700 police officers had been injured.
The killing—condemned by President
Emmanuel Macron
Emmanuel Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France since 2017. ''Ex officio'', he is also one of the two Co-Princes of Andorra. Prior to his presidency, Macron served as Minister of Econ ...
as "inexplicable" and "inexcusable"—became part of a broader public debate regarding aggressive French law enforcement,
racial profiling
Racial profiling or ethnic profiling is the act of suspecting, targeting or discriminating against a person on the basis of their ethnicity, religion or nationality, rather than on individual suspicion or available evidence. Racial profiling involv ...
, immigration, and the stakes of naming the suburban violence a "riot" rather than a "revolt".
On 28 June, the president of the
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...
,
Yaël Braun-Pivet
Yaël Braun-Pivet (; born 7 December 1970) is a French lawyer and politician who has served as President of the French National Assembly since 28 June 2022. She is the first woman to hold this position. A member of La République En Marche (LREM ...
, asked deputies "to respect a minute of silence in Nahel's memory".
Background
![Justice pour Nahel](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/Justice_pour_Nahel.jpg)
France saw a rise in
police violence in France in the years before the killing.
In 2017, a law was passed permitting police to shoot at a vehicle fleeing a traffic stop, if the driver was putting the passengers or passersby at risk. This shooting was the third fatal shooting that occurred during a traffic stop in France in 2023. In 2020, there were three deaths, followed by two in 2021, and 13 in 2022, leading to the indictment of five police officers.
The victims were often people of
black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...
or
Maghreb
The Maghreb (; ar, الْمَغْرِب, al-Maghrib, lit=the west), also known as the Arab Maghreb ( ar, المغرب العربي) and Northwest Africa, is the western part of North Africa and the Arab world. The region includes Algeria, ...
i origin, leading to allegations of
systemic racism
Institutional racism, also known as systemic racism, is a form of racism that is embedded in the laws and regulations of a society or an organization. It manifests as discrimination in areas such as criminal justice, employment, housing, healt ...
within the French police.
In May 2023, national representatives at the
United Nations Human Rights Council
The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), CDH is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a regional group basis. ...
criticized the country's police force and urged the implementation of significant measures to address excessive use of force in demonstrations. The French government has frequently downplayed instances of
police violence
Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, but is not limited to, ...
, sometimes even avoiding the use of the term itself, while
police union
A police union is a trade union for police officers. Police unions formed later than most other occupations, reflecting both a conservative tendency and relatively superior working conditions. The first police unions formed in the United States. Sh ...
s opposed repealing or revising the 2017 law.
On 19 July 2016,
Adama Traoré, a 24-year-old black man, died while in custody after being restrained and apprehended by the police. This incident sparked widespread public outcry and protests, which reignited in May 2020 when the officers involved were cleared of any wrongdoing.
On 14 June 2023, Alhoussein Camara, a 19-year-old, was killed during a road check in
Angoulême
Angoulême (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Engoulaeme''; oc, Engoleime) is a communes of France, commune, the Prefectures of France, prefecture of the Charente Departments of France, department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwestern Franc ...
. His body was
repatriated
Repatriation is the process of returning a thing or a person to its country of origin or citizenship. The term may refer to non-human entities, such as converting a foreign currency into the currency of one's own country, as well as to the pro ...
to
Conakry
Conakry (; ; sus, Kɔnakiri; N’ko: ߞߐߣߊߞߙߌ߫, Fula: ''Konaakiri'' 𞤑𞤮𞤲𞤢𞥄𞤳𞤭𞤪𞤭) is the capital and largest city of Guinea. A port city, it serves as the economic, financial and cultural centre of Guinea. Its p ...
,
Guinea
Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...
, by his family and the Guinean authorities. While there, they appealed to France for justice to be served.
Victim
Nahel Merzouk (; ar, نايل مرزوق) was a 17-year-old enrolled at the Lycée Louis-Blériot in
Suresnes
Suresnes () is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, Île-de-France. Located in Hauts-de-Seine, from the centre of Paris, it had a population of 49,145 as of 2016. The nearest communes are Nanterre, Puteaux, Rueil-Malmaison, Saint-Cloud an ...
, where he attended classes for six months before dropping out and working as a pizza delivery driver in Nanterre. He did not have a driving license allowing him to drive the rented Mercedes he died in. According to a paramedic who knew him, his father left his mother before he was born.
According to his family's lawyers, Merzouk had no criminal record but the prosecutor confirmed he was "known to police",
particularly for resisting arrest, and had been charged with resisting arrest the previous weekend and five times since 2021. According to information leaked to ''
Europe 1
Europe 1, formerly known as Europe n° 1, is a privately owned radio station created in 1955. Owned and operated by Lagardère Active, a subsidiary of the Lagardère Group, it is one of the leading radio broadcasting stations in France and its pro ...
'', his police file (
TAJ) included 15 recorded incidents, including the use of false license plates and driving without insurance.
Shooting
Prosecution version
According to the public prosecutor of Nanterre, two
Paris Police Prefecture
The police prefecture (french: préfecture de police) is the unit of the French Ministry of the Interior that provides police, emergency services, and various administrative services to the population of the city of Paris and the surrounding t ...
motorcycle officers noticed a
Mercedes-Benz A Class
The Mercedes-Benz A-Class is a subcompact car produced by the German automobile manufacturer Mercedes-Benz as the brand's entry-level vehicle. The first generation (internally coded W168) was introduced in 1997, the second generation (W169) in ...
AMG with a Polish license plate driving at high speed in a bus lane, driven by a young-looking person at around 7:55am. The officers activated their warning signals (audible and visual) and indicated to the driver of the car, then stationary at a red traffic light, to stop. The vehicle started moving and ran the red light. The officers followed the car and alerted their superiors via radio. The car committed multiple traffic violations, endangering a pedestrian and a cyclist.
Due to traffic congestion, the vehicle was eventually forced to stop. The police officers got off their motorcycles, pointed their guns at the driver, and ordered him to turn off the engine. Instead, the vehicle started to pull away, and one of the police officers, 38-year-old Florian M., working his ninth consecutive day without a day off, fired a shot at the driver at point-blank range. The vehicle continued forward before crashing into the street sign marking the Nelson Mandela Square at 8:19am. The rear passenger was arrested when he exited the vehicle. The front right passenger fled. Florian M. provided first aid to the driver, who was pronounced dead at 9:15am.
Police records indicate that Merzouk was known for previous incidents in which he failed to comply with
traffic stop
A traffic stop, commonly referred to as being pulled over, is a temporary detention of a driver of a vehicle by police to investigate a possible crime or minor violation of law.
United States
A traffic stop is usually considered to be a T ...
s.
On the day on his death, it is alleged that he "disobeyed and committed several traffic offences, endangering the lives of a pedestrian and a cyclist", and refused to turn off the ignition. He shot Merzouk when the Mercedes began moving forward after it had been stopped.
The use of firearms by the police, during traffic controls in the event of failure to comply, is currently regulated by a law adopted in 2017.
Authorities arrested Florian M. on suspicion of "voluntary homicide by a person in authority".
Police unions complained against the arrest.
Minister of the Interior
An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...
Gérald Darmanin
Gérald Moussa Darmanin (; born 11 October 1982) is a French politician who has been serving as Minister of the Interior in the governments of Prime Ministers Jean Castex and Élisabeth Borne since 2020.
A former member of The Republicans (LR) ...
said he would seek the dissolution of a small far-right union, Syndicat France Police, which welcomed the shooting of Merzouk.
Police version challenged by a video
According to the police, Florian M. fired his weapon as the young driver was about to run him over. This version, citing self-defense, was challenged after the publication of a video showing that the car was not in a position to harm the police officers and was not heading towards them.
According to ''
Le Monde
''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...
'', "the 50-second sequence, which has gone viral on social media, has literally swept away the language elements initially disseminated by police sources and repeated by some media." The video shows that the two police officers were on the driver's side of the Mercedes. The car was moving off when the officer fired the shot at point-blank range.
Version from the third passenger
On 30 June 2023, a third passenger aboard the Mercedes testified that Merzouk received several
buttstroke
A buttstroke or butt-stroking is the act of striking someone with the buttstock of a rifle, shotgun, or other long gun. It is a common case of the use of a firearm as a blunt weapon. Buttstroke is among the major offensive techniques with the rif ...
s. According to them, the third buttstroke made Merzouk release the brake pedal, causing the car to move forward, given that the gearbox was automatic. According to
BFM TV, this version differs from that put forward by the police, as according to the
Prefect of Police of Paris
The police prefecture (french: préfecture de police) is the unit of the French Ministry of the Interior that provides police, emergency services, and various administrative services to the population of the city of Paris and the surrounding t ...
Laurent Nuñez
Laurent Nuñez-Belda (born 19 February 1964) is a French civil servant and independent politician who has been serving as Head of the National Center of Intelligence and Counter-Terrorism (CNRLT) since 2020. From 2018 until 2020, he was as Secr ...
: "the driver had first turned off the engine, restarted the vehicle, then left. It was in this context that the police officer used his firearm."
Investigation
Florian M. is under investigation for
manslaughter
Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th cen ...
and was placed in custody for the charge of "voluntary homicide by a person in authority".
The police have maintained that the shooting was an act of self-defense, as they argue that Merzouk was driving towards the officer.
However, since the video was released, this claim has faced significant criticism.
Yassine Bouzrou, a lawyer representing Merzouk, has stated that the video completely disproves this assertion and alleges that the brigadier had an "intention to kill".
Other lawyers representing Merzouk have made similar remarks.
Two investigations have been initiated: "refusal to comply" against Merzouk, and "voluntary homicide by a person in authority" against Florian M. The latter investigation has been assigned to the General Inspectorate of the National Police (
IGPN).
Initial reactions
French President Emmanuel Macron declared the incident "inexcusable and unforgivable", adding that it "moved the entire nation". Macron's statements were a rare critique of French law enforcement from government officials.
The
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
's
Hugh Schofield attributed this to the effects of social media, allowing for the dissemination of such videos with ease, as well as fear stemming from the ensuing riots.
Alliance Police nationale
Alliance Police nationale is a French police union established May 9, 1995, in Aubervilliers, Seine-Saint-Denis
() is a department of France located in the Grand Paris metropolis in the region. In French, it is often referred to colloquially ...
, the largest French police union, criticized Macron for "condemn
ngour colleagues before justice has had the chance to speak".
Far-right politician
Marine Le Pen
Marion Anne Perrine "Marine" Le Pen (; born 5 August 1968) is a French lawyer and politician who ran for the French presidency in 2012, 2017, and 2022. A member of the National Rally (RN; previously the National Front, FN), she served as its pre ...
, leader of the
National Rally
The National Rally (french: Rassemblement National, ; RN), until 2018 known as the National Front (french: link=no, Front National, ; FN), is a Far-right politics, far-rightAbridged list of reliable sources that refer to National Rally as fa ...
party, dubbed Macron's statements as "excessive" and "irresponsible", adding that "the president is prepared to ignore constitutional principles in a bid to put out a potential fire."
Left-wing politician and former
La France Insoumise
La France Insoumise (FI or LFI; ; "France Unbowed") is a left-wing populist political party in France, launched in 2016 by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, then a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) and former co-president of the Left Party (PG). It aim ...
party leader
Jean-Luc Mélenchon
Jean-Luc Antoine Pierre Mélenchon (; born 19 August 1951) is a French politician who was a member of the National Assembly for the 4th constituency of Bouches-du-Rhône from 2017 to 2022. He led the ''La France Insoumise'' group in the Nation ...
called for police reform.
Éric Ciotti
Éric Ciotti (, ; born 28 September 1965) is a French politician who has represented the 1st constituency of Alpes-Maritimes in the National Assembly since 2007 and is the president of The Republicans since 2022. Ciotti previously briefly served ...
, party leader of the conservative party
LR, expressed his support for the police, dubbing them defenders of collective security and denouncing the ensuing unrest as unjustified.
French football player
Kylian Mbappé
Kylian Mbappé Lottin (born 20 December 1998) is a French professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Paris Saint-Germain and the France national team. Considered one of the best players in the world, he is renowned for his dribb ...
took to
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
to denounce the incident as "unacceptable" and sent condolences to Merzouk's family.
Mike Maignan
Mike Peterson Maignan (born 3 July 1995) is a French professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club AC Milan and the France national team.
Maignan came through the youth teams at Paris Saint-Germain, he was an unused substitute sev ...
, a footballer for
AC Milan
Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 and 1982–83 seasons ...
stated on Twitter that "It's always for the same people that being in the wrong leads to death."
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football.
Founded ...
footballer
Jules Koundé
Jules Olivier Koundé (born 12 November 1998) is a French professional Association football, footballer who plays as a centre-back or right-back for La Liga club FC Barcelona, Barcelona and the France national football team, France national team ...
criticized the coverage of the incident, stating that news media were capitalizing on it to "distort the truth" and find excuses to criminalize Merzouk. French actor and comedian
Omar Sy
Omar Sy (, ff, 𞤌𞤥𞤢𞤪 𞤅𞤭, Omar Si; born 20 January 1978) is a French actor, best known in France for his sketches with Fred Testot on the '' Service après-vente des émissions'' television show on Canal+ (2005–2012). He gaine ...
sent condolences to the family.
Merzouk's mother called for a "a revolt for my son" on
TikTok
TikTok, known in China as Douyin (), is a short-form video hosting service owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which can range in duration from 15 seconds to 10 minutes.
TikTok is an international version ...
.
Merzouk's grandmother stated that she lacked forgiveness for the police and government, stating "They killed my grandson, now I don't care about anyone, they took my grandson from me, I will never forgive them in my life, never, never, never."
Le Parisien
''Le Parisien'' (; French for "The Parisian") is a French daily newspaper covering both international and national news, and local news of Paris and its suburbs. It is owned by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE, better known as LVMH.
Histor ...
and
BFM TV have been criticized for relaying the police's account without any caution in the early hours of the event, before changing their narrative in response to the video evidence and pressure from other media outlets.
The
Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its "shock and consternation the brutal and tragic disappearance of the young Nahel", adding that it trusted the
French government
The Government of France ( French: ''Gouvernement français''), officially the Government of the French Republic (''Gouvernement de la République française'' ), exercises executive power in France. It is composed of the Prime Minister, who ...
to assume its duty of protection and security for Algerian nationals on French territory. The Moroccan press was critical of what it called Algerian interference in internal French domestic affairs and use of the crisis to political advantage.
The
asked France to address systemic racism within its police forces, and called for the protests to be peaceful.
A fundraiser on
GoFundMe
GoFundMe is an American for-profit crowdfunding platform that allows people to raise money for events ranging from life events such as celebrations and graduations to challenging circumstances like accidents and illnesses. From 2010 to the b ...
for the officer's family was set up by the
far-right
Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...
politician
Jean Messiha. When it closed on 4 July, it had raised €1,636,200, far greater than the €200,000 raised in support of Merzouk's family. the officer's family will receive €625,000 after taxation and platform fees.
An article signed by more than one hundred personalities, including
Angela Davis
Angela Yvonne Davis (born January 26, 1944) is an American political activist, philosopher, academic, scholar, and author. She is a professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz. A feminist and a Marxist, Davis was a longtime member of ...
,
Achille Mbembe
Joseph-Achille Mbembe, known as Achille Mbembe (; born 1957), is a Cameroonian historian, political theorist, and public intellectual who is a research professor in history and politics at the Wits Institute for Social and Economy Research at the ...
,
Thomas Piketty
Thomas Piketty (; born 7 May 1971) is a French economist who is Professor of Economics at the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences, Associate Chair at the Paris School of Economics and Centennial Professor of Economics in the Int ...
,
Annie Ernaux
Annie Thérèse Blanche Ernaux (; born 1 September 1940) is a French writer, professor of literature and Nobel laureate. Her literary work, mostly autobiographical, maintains close links with sociology. Ernaux was awarded the 2022 Nobel Prize ...
,
Eric Cantona
Eric Daniel Pierre Cantona (; ; born 24 May 1966) is a French actor, director, producer, and former professional footballer. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation, Cantona is credited as having made Manchester United a d ...
,
Judith Butler
Judith Pamela Butler (born February 24, 1956) is an American philosopher and gender theorist whose work has influenced political philosophy, ethics, and the fields of third-wave feminism, queer theory, and literary theory. In 1993, Butler ...
,
Ken Loach
Kenneth Charles Loach (born 17 June 1936) is a British film director and screenwriter. His socially critical directing style and socialist ideals are evident in his film treatment of social issues such as poverty (''Poor Cow'', 1967), homelessne ...
,
Adèle Haenel
Adèle Haenel (; born 11 February 1989) is a French actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including two César Awards from seven nominations and one Lumières Award from two nominations.
Haenel began her career as a child actres ...
,
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and activist. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched ...
, and
Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker
Anne Teresa, Baroness De Keersmaeker (, born 1960 in Mechelen, Belgium, grew up in Wemmel) is a contemporary dance choreographer. The dance company constructed around her, , was in residence at La Monnaie in Brussels from 1992 to 2007.
Biography
...
was published in ''
L'Humanité
''L'Humanité'' (; ), is a French daily newspaper. It was previously an organ of the French Communist Party, and maintains links to the party. Its slogan is "In an ideal world, ''L'Humanité'' would not exist."
History and profile
Pre-World Wa ...
'', entitled "This time, everyone has seen" and calling for participation in the united march against police violence on July 15, 2023. They endorsed the demands of groups of families of victims and activist organizations.
Polemics on immigration
, in an op-ed in ''
Atlantico
''Atlantico'' is a French news website. Founded on 28 February 2011 amid much media attention, it quickly attracted notice for scoops related to scandals involving the Socialist politician and International Monetary Fund head, Dominique Strauss ...
'', and , in an op-ed in ''
Causeur'' and during an appearance on
CNews, opined that the violence was related to immigration and Islam. The
Minister of the Interior
An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...
Gérald Darmanin
Gérald Moussa Darmanin (; born 11 October 1982) is a French politician who has been serving as Minister of the Interior in the governments of Prime Ministers Jean Castex and Élisabeth Borne since 2020.
A former member of The Republicans (LR) ...
, when asked by a senator from
The Republicans to describe "in what way" the rioters were French, replied that "there were many Kevins and Mattéos among those arrested" and said that he thought any
identity-based reading of the events would be a mistake. Darmanin repeated that the policeman who shot Merzouk during a traffic check "obviously did not respect the law". The emphasis on immigration by
LR was described by the magazine ''
Marianne
Marianne () has been the national personification of the French Republic since the French Revolution, as a personification of liberty, equality, fraternity and reason, as well as a portrayal of the Goddess of Liberty.
Marianne is displayed i ...
'' as part of a campaign strategy to attract
Eric Zemmour and
Marine Le Pen
Marion Anne Perrine "Marine" Le Pen (; born 5 August 1968) is a French lawyer and politician who ran for the French presidency in 2012, 2017, and 2022. A member of the National Rally (RN; previously the National Front, FN), she served as its pre ...
voters in upcoming elections.
Unrest
![Marche blanche pour Nahel IMG 20230629 140631](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c8/Marche_blanche_pour_Nahel_IMG_20230629_140631.jpg)
Public outcry and outrage over the shooting of Merzouk evolved into protests and riots (with some preferring the term "revolt").
In Nanterre, residents protested outside the police headquarters on 27 June, which escalated into rioting. Demonstrators set cars alight, trashed bus stops, and shot fireworks at police. In
Viry-Châtillon
Viry-Châtillon () is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.
Population
Inhabitants of Viry-Châtillon are known as ''Castelvirois'' in French.
Sports
The town is home to the women's fo ...
, just south of Paris, a group of youths reportedly set a bus ablaze.
In
Mantes-la-Jolie
Mantes-la-Jolie (, often informally called Mantes) is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region of north-central France. It is located to the west of Paris, from the centre of the capital. Mantes-la-Jolie is a subprefe ...
, a town 40 km northwest of Paris, the
town hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...
was set ablaze after being
firebombed
Firebombing is a bombing technique designed to damage a target, generally an urban area, through the use of fire, caused by incendiary devices, rather than from the blast effect of large bombs.
In popular usage, any act in which an incendiary ...
on the night of 27 June, burning until 3:15 (CEST).
Clashes continued throughout the night across France, including in
Toulouse
Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...
and
Lille
Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Pref ...
.
Unrest was also reported in
Asnières,
Colombes
Colombes () is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. In 2019, Colombes was the 53rd largest city in France.
Name
The name Colombes comes from Latin ''columna'' (Old French ''colombe'') ...
,
Suresnes
Suresnes () is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, Île-de-France. Located in Hauts-de-Seine, from the centre of Paris, it had a population of 49,145 as of 2016. The nearest communes are Nanterre, Puteaux, Rueil-Malmaison, Saint-Cloud an ...
,
Aubervilliers
Aubervilliers () is a commune in the Seine-Saint-Denis department, Île-de-France region, northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Albertivillariens'' or ''Albertivillariennes''.
Geography
Localisati ...
,
Clichy-sous-Bois
Clichy-sous-Bois () is a commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from central Paris.[Mantes-la-Jolie
Mantes-la-Jolie (, often informally called Mantes) is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region of north-central France. It is located to the west of Paris, from the centre of the capital. Mantes-la-Jolie is a subprefe ...]
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By 29 June, over 150 people had been arrested, 24 officers had been injured, and 40 cars had been torched.
Fearing greater unrest, Darmanin deployed 1,200 riot police and
gendarmes
Wrong info! -->
A gendarmerie () is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (literally, ...
in and around Paris, later adding an additional 2,000.
On 29 June, he announced that the government would deploy 40,000 troops nationwide. According to Darmanin, over 1,350 vehicles were set on fire, and over 1,300 arrests were made in connection with the riots.
On the afternoon of June 29, thousands of people held a
white march
The White March (french: Marche blanche; nl, Witte Mars; german: Weißer Marsch) was a demonstration in Brussels on 20 October 1996 after serial killer and criminal Marc Dutroux was arrested. The demonstrators wanted better protection for chil ...
led by mothers and activists in Nanterre demanding "justice for Nahel". The participants railed against what they perceived as a culture of police impunity and a failure to reform law enforcement in a country that has experienced waves of rioting and protests over police conduct. A few hours later, the officer implicated in the killing, was indicted for intentional homicide and remanded in custody.
See also
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Paris massacre of 1961
The Paris massacre of 1961 occurred on 17 October 1961, during the Algerian War (1954–62). Under orders from the head of the Parisian police, Maurice Papon, the French National Police attacked a demonstration by 30,000 pro- National Liberation ...
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Killing of Malik Oussekine and subsequent
1986–1987 protests in France
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2005 French riots
The 2005 French riots (french: Émeutes de 2005 dans les Banlieues Françaises), was a three-week period of riots in the suburbs of Paris and other French cities, in October and November 2005. These riots involved youth in violent attacks, and t ...
following the death of Zyed Benna, 17, and Bouna Traoré, 15
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2007 Villiers-le-Bel riots
Riots in the Val-d'Oise department in France began on 26 November 2007, following the deaths of two teenagers (Moushin S., 15, and Larami S., 16), whose motorcycle collided with a police vehicle. The circumstances recalled those that precipitated ...
following the deaths of Moushin S., 15, and Larami S., 16
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2009 French riots following the death of Mohamed Benmouna, 21
Notes
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Merzouk, Nahel
2023 deaths
2020s in Île-de-France
June 2023 events in France
Deaths by person in Paris
Deaths by person in France
Filmed killings by law enforcement
Law enforcement in France
History of Hauts-de-Seine
Nanterre