Nahel M., a 17-year-old teenager, was shot dead by a police officer in Nanterre on Tuesday June 27, after what is being described as a refusal to obey orders.
The police officer who shot Nahel was charged with voluntary manslaughter and remanded in custody on Thursday. The white march organized by the teenager’s family gave way to violence near the Nanterre prefecture. Further tensions are feared this evening, as on the previous two nights.
The tone is one of appeasement, in contrast to the executive’s usual reactions to this type of event. After the death of a 19-year-old Guinean near Angoulême in mid-June, Nahel is the second victim to be killed in such circumstances in 2023, while 13 people were killed by police gunfire following a refusal to yield in 2022.
The authorities fear tensions and violence on Thursday evening, following the numerous incidents that have occurred over the last two nights, particularly in the Paris region (Nanterre, Argenteuil, Clichy, Saint-Denis, Neuilly-sur-Marne), but also in Lyon, Lille, Roubaix, Toulouse and Dijon.
Exceptional security measures will be deployed for Thursday night: 40,000 police officers will be mobilized, including 5,000 in Paris, to prevent riots and further incidents. No buses or streetcars will be running after 9pm. “I want everyone to know that as of this evening, public order will be restored”, declared the Minister of the Interior at midday.
While the executive branch is accustomed to defending police officers accused of shooting after refusing to comply, Emmanuel Macron, Élisabeth Borne and Gérald Darmanin all condemned on Wednesday the act of the policeman who killed young Nahel in Nanterre. The change in tone was aimed above all at avoiding a flare-up after two nights of violence.
