Île-de-France

Nanterre : scenes of rioting after Nahel’s death

- 10:06 pm
Rioting on the sidelines of the white march for Nahel (capture Quartier Général, Twitter)

Rioting on the sidelines of the white march for Nahel (capture Quartier Général, Twitter)

Third day of violence after the death of a 17-year-old boy, killed by a police shot after refusing to obey.

The images are breathtaking. The anger and violence following the death of 17-year-old Nahel, shot dead by a policeman during a traffic stop in Nanterre on Tuesday, sparked off rioting in the Paris region, but also in many other French cities.

170 police injured

On Tuesday night, violent clashes broke out between youths and police in several districts of the Paris region. Cars were burned, stores ransacked and street and school furniture destroyed. During this first night of violence, police made 27 arrests in the Hauts-de-Seine department.
During the night of Wednesday to Thursday, scenes of urban guerrilla warfare multiplied not only in the Paris region, but also in many towns across France, where police stations and town halls were attacked and dozens of cars burned. Police made more than 180 arrests, said Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin. Police and gendarmes injured 170 people.

A white march

A return to calm was hoped for on Thursday, July 29, with a white march organized by Nahel’s mother and her family. Around 6,200 people (according to the police) set off from the Pablo-Picasso housing estate, demanding “Justice for Nahel”. The young man’s mother had taken up a position on a truck at the head of the demonstration.
As the procession reached the end of its route, in front of the Hauts-de-Seine prefecture, not far from the scene of the tragedy, clashes broke out with the police. Fireworks mortars were fired in response to tear gas.

Streetcars and buses set on fire

The violence continued into the early evening of Thursday, raising fears of another night of rioting. Some 5,000 police officers and gendarmes will be deployed in the Paris region and almost 40,000 in other French cities, announced the Interior Ministry.
Buses and streetcars will not be running in the Ile-de-France region after 9 p.m. tonight. It’s true that a T6 tramway train was completely torched in Clamart on Wednesday evening, as were 11 buses.
The police officer who fired the fatal shot, aged 38, has been charged with voluntary manslaughter and jailed.

 

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