28 Jun 2023 at 05:58
In Nanterre, a suburb of Paris, unrest has broken out after the death of a 17-year-old boy. He was shot dead by an officer on Tuesday morning. Many people in Nanterre were furious with the police and expressed it well into the night.
Bus shelters were destroyed and rubbish bins set on fire in several places. But there were also larger fires, including in a primary school. Residents set up barricades between the flats and hindered firefighters in their work.
Emergency services were pelted with large amounts of fireworks, city authorities said. Police used tear gas and water cannons against people who threw objects at officers and firefighters. At least fifteen people were arrested.
The unrest, which had started on Tuesday evening with a demonstration in front of Nanterre police station, also spread to neighboring towns. In Mantes-la-Jolie, a town hall was set on fire. The police used tear gas and rubber bullets, but had to withdraw.
The boy would have refused to stop
The 17-year-old boy allegedly refused to listen to officers’ instructions when his car was stopped. A video verified by the Reuters news agency shows the officers standing next to the vehicle.
The moment he wants to move up, an officer shoots at the boy, who was of Algerian descent. He was hit in the chest and could not be saved with CPR. The family has filed a complaint against the officer and the police have opened their own investigation. According to France Info, the agent has been taken into custody on suspicion of manslaughter.
The boy’s death sparked outrage across the country, with accusations of excessive police brutality. “The death penalty no longer exists in France. No police officer has the right to kill except in self-defense,” tweeted left-wing politician Jean-Luc Mélenchon, adding that the police “must be reformed from the ground up”.
2023-06-28 03:58:40
#Night #full #riots #Paris #suburb #police #officer #shoots #dead #17yearold #boy
