Violent Protests Erupt Across France Following Police Shooting
Violent protests have erupted across France after the police shooting of a 17-year-old.
The boy, Nahel Merzouk, was fatally shot during a traffic stop on Tuesday, June 27, in the Paris suburb of Nanterre. Footage filmed by a bystander showed two officers standing on the driver’s side of the car, one of whom fired his weapon at the driver despite not appearing to be in any immediate danger.
According to Nanterre prosecutor Pascal Prache, the officer claimed he fired his gun out of fear that the boy would run someone over with the vehicle.
Despite calls from top officials for patience to allow the justice system to function, a sizable number of individuals across France are still shocked and angry. This sentiment is particularly acute among young men and women of color who have encountered discrimination by police.
Justice Nahel is scrawled on a metro sign in Paris on July 2. Abdulmonam Eassa/Getty ImagesA police officer stands in front of the damaged home of Vincent Jeanbrun, the mayor of L’Haÿ-les-Roses, after rioters rammed a vehicle into the building. Jeanbrun reported that his wife and one of his children were injured. Nassim Gomri/AFP/Getty ImagesA large crowd marches with Jeanbrun to show their support for him on Monday, July 3. Locals and officials held up a banner at the march reading “Together for the republic!”Police stop a group of young people in the Champs-Élysées area of Paris on July 2.Demonstrators run as French police officers shoot tear gas in Paris on July 2. Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty ImagesA French firefighter works to extinguish a burning car in Tourcoing, France, on July 2.Police officers patrol a demonstration in Marseille, France, on Saturday, July 1. Clement Mahoudeau/AFP/Getty ImagesA passerby looks at the scorched remains of a car set on fire during protests in Colombes, France, on July 1.An employee boards up shop windows on July 1 following a night of protests in Strasbourg, France.Firefighters use a water hose on a burnt bus in Nanterre, France, on July 1. Lewis Joly/APProtesters clash with police in Nanterre on Friday, June 30. Gonzalo Fuentes/ReutersProtesters demonstrate in Paris on June 30. Blondet Eliot/ABACA/ShutterstockTwo restaurant employees extinguish a fire set by demonstrators in Paris on June 30.Officers stand guard during riots in Lille, France, on June 30. Nacho Doce/ReutersPeople walk past a vandalized shop in Lille on June 30. Pascal Rossignol/ReutersBurnt buses can be seen through the gates at the Fort d’Aubervilliers bus terminal in Aubervilliers, France, on June 30.Fireworks explode as policemen stand by during protests in Roubaix on June 30. Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP/Getty ImagesPeople look at burning tires blocking a street in Bordeaux, France, on Thursday, June 29.Demonstrators clash with police in Paris on June 29. Firas Abdullah/Anadolu Agency/Getty ImagesCars burn in Nanterre on June 29. Bertrand Guay/AFP/Getty ImagesPolice face protesters at the end of a march in Paris on June 29. Zakaria Abdelkafi/AFP/Getty ImagesPeople demonstrate in Nanterre on June 29. Benjamin Girette/Bloomberg/Getty ImagesFirefighters try to extinguish burning cars in Paris on June 29. Firas Abdullah/Anadolu Agency/Getty ImagesMounia, the mother of Nahel Merzouk, gestures as she stands on a truck during a march in Nanterre on June 29.Firefighters extinguish burning vehicles during clashes in Nanterre on Wednesday, June 28.
