Calay News
On Tuesday night, riots broke out in Nanterre, on the western outskirts of Paris, following the death of a 17-year-old teenager who was shot by a policeman after escaping from a checkpoint. According to police sources, it was initially reported that the vehicle driven by the teenager hit two officers on motorcycles.
However, a video verified by AFP and circulated on social networks shows that one of the agents held the driver at gunpoint and shot him at point-blank range when he accelerated. In the recording, the phrase “you’re going to get a bullet in the head” is heard, although it is not possible to determine who uttered it.
The young man’s escape ended when his car crashed into a pole a few meters away. The victim, identified as Nal M., died shortly afterwards from a chest wound.
The news of his death caused shock and anger in Nanterre, his hometown. Overnight, riots broke out between residents and law enforcement. According to AFP reports, fifteen people were arrested in the clashes.
Protesters threw fireworks at the police prefecture, set fire to a railway track, and set fire to vehicles and garbage containers. They also erected barricades in front of law enforcement, who responded by using tear gas in several attempts to disperse the crowd.
The police prefecture reported that the situation was “under control” shortly before midnight, but tension persisted and spread to other areas on the northern outskirts of Paris.
Following the death, authorities opened an investigation against the youth for contempt of court and attempted voluntary manslaughter against a public official, as well as another investigation against the policeman for voluntary manslaughter as a law enforcement officer.
The policeman suspected of firing the fatal shot, who is 38 years old, is being held in preventive detention. The lawyer of the victim’s family announced that he will file two lawsuits in the coming days, one for homicide and the other for the false narrative of the facts provided by the police officers.
In the National Assembly, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin called the images “extremely shocking.” The leader of the radical left, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, declared: “The death penalty does not exist in France. No police officer has the right to kill, except in self-defense.”
In 2022, France recorded 13 deaths following contempt situations during police checks, a worrying record.
