Paris riots after police ‘execute’ teenager at traffic stop
French police killed 13 people at traffic stops last year
Reuters
Parts of the French capital were set ablaze last night as Parisians voiced their outrage at the police shooting of a French-Algerian teenager who refused to halt at a traffic stop.
In a video circulating online, two police officers can be seen at the window of a bright yellow Mercedes AMG, which officials say had been hired by the victim and was driving erratically.
In the video, later verified by AFP, one of the officers points a gun through the driver’s window and as the car starts moving a gunshot can be heard.
The victim, named locally as French-Algerian delivery driver, Naël M, died of bullet wounds to the chest after being shot in the Paris suburb of Nanterre.
The officer has been detained on homicide charges
Reuters
There were two other passengers in the car at the time of the incident, of which one fled the scene and the other, also a minor, was arrested.
The officer has been detained on homicide charges.
According to the newspaper Le Monde, the police had initially professed that the teenager drove towards the officers with the intention of inflicting harm, though the viral video undermines this account.
Spurred by the initial shooting and exacerbated by the latter excuses, Parisians took to the streets in a show of anger and solidarity.
Cars and buildings were torched, rubbish bins toppled and set alight, fireworks, firecrackers and rockets aimed at police forces, and bus shelters destroyed.
A Paris police spokesman said: “There are mobs setting fire to cars and shooting firework rockets at officers.”
Riot police have arrested 24 individuals after a night of unrest
Reuters
In response, police used tear gas and broke up barricades erected by the demonstrators, arresting 24 individuals.
The latest shooting adds to an unwelcome trend for French police, for a record 13 people lost their lives to police shootings during traffic stops last year.
Paris police chief Laurent Nuñez admitted to the French television station BFMTV that the officer in question’s conduct "raises questions", though he suggested the officer may have felt threatened.
France's Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin appealed for calm but conceded the video shared on social media was "extremely shocking" and urged people to "respect the grief of the family and the presumption of innocence of the police".
Left-wing leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon expressed his "heartfelt condolences" to the family of the teenager.
He added: "No officer has the right to kill unless in self-defence.
Politicians have waded into the debate
Reuters
"This uncontrolled police force discredits the authority of the state. It needs to be completely overhauled.”
Yassine Bouzrou, the teenager’s family lawyer, believes the video "clearly showed a policeman killing a young man in cold blood,” and sees no credibility to self-defence claims.
Another lawyer representing the victim's family, Jennifer Cambla, described the death as an "execution".
Two weeks ago, a 19-year-old driver was shot dead by police in the town of Angouleme, after allegedly ramming into an officer during a traffic stop.
Incidents of unrest last night were reported in Nanterre, as well as in the towns of Asnières, Colombes, Suresnes, Aubervilliers, Clichy-sous-Bois and Mantes-la-Jolie.
Earlier this month, flare -wielding French workers stormed Paris' Olympic Games HQ.
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