France is experiencing violent protests and riots in recent days that have resulted in hundreds of arrests, police officers injured and vehicles set on fire. The situation has reached such a point that the president of France, Emmanuel Macronhas convened this Thursday an inter-ministerial crisis unit in the Ministry of the Interior to solve the crisis that broke out after the French Police shot and killed a 17-year-old boy in Nanterre.

What happened to Naël?

The events took place around 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, June 27, when Naël, a 17-year-old boy, he was shot in the chest at a police checkpoint, after the interception of his vehicle. At first, the Police reported an attempted hit-and-run, but a video broadcast on networks has subsequently denied this version and an agent remains in custody for his alleged responsibility in a crime of homicide, according to the Nanterre Prosecutor’s Office. He The shot was fired at the moment the car was accelerating. without directly threatening the integrity of the police officers, which was, however, what the policeman who shot, who is in custody, and his colleague alleged at first.

Naël’s mother has announced on social networks the call for a “White March” on Thursday at 2:00 p.m. in Nanterre, in front of the Prefecture headquarters; a “riot” in memory of his deceased son. The family lawyer, Yassine Bouzrou, has assured that it is an “extremely serious” event, since the video released in the last few hours shows that “a police officer shot down a young man in cold blood” and “there is no legitimate defense possible”, reports ‘Le Figaro’.

What does the prosecution say?

For its part, the Prosecutor’s Office of the French city of Nanterre has concluded that “the legal conditions” were not met for the use of the weapon in the police incident that ended on Tuesday with the death of a 17-year-old boy at a control, so the agent who fired the shot, already accused of voluntary manslaughter, must remain in pretrial detention.

The agent explained to the authorities that he wanted “avoid a new leak from the vehicle” driven by the deceased, identified as Nahel, to whom he attributes “dangerous” behavior at the wheel. In this sense, he has declared that if he drew the weapon and pointed it directly at him, it was to prevent it from starting again, but the young man ignored it. It was at that moment that the shot was fired, which according to the prosecutor went through Nahel’s arm and chest, which finally ended up crashing. The Government itself has questioned the actions of the agent, also captured by amateur video images that are already in the possession of the Prosecutor’s Office and that, in the opinion of the Public Ministry, they prove that an excess could have been committed.

Riots, injured and arrested

France has already experienced two nights of riots and in the early hours of Wednesday morning, the night after the news broke, overnight protests broke out in the city of Nanterre which has resulted in 24 police officers injured and about 40 vehicles set on fire. Other incidents, although of a lower level than those in Nanterre, were also reported in other areas of the Paris metropolitan region, according to Franceinfo, but the riots intensified on Thursday.

French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin reported this Thursday first thing in the morning a total of 150 arrests, denouncing “a night of unbearable violence against symbols” of the country such as schools, town halls or police stations. In addition, these protests have not been limited to the Paris region, but there have been numerous riots in other districts of cities such as Toulouse or Lille, where the clashes have lasted several hours. For its part, the French newspaper ‘Le Figaro’ reported overnight that there has been an attempted prisoner escape from the Fresnes prison, located on the Isle of France. Dozens of hooded men tried to break into the prison to escape, however, the attempt has been repelled.

political reaction

The President of France, Emmanuel Macron, has convened this Thursday an inter-ministerial crisis unit in the Ministry of the Interior due to the violent riots that have taken place in several cities of the country, since he considers that they have been perpetrated “attacks against institutions” that are “unjustifiable” after showing support for the deceased and his family upon hearing the news on Tuesday. “The next few hours must lead to recollection and in this regard, and the white march must be done under this sign,” Macron said, referring to the call announced by the young Naël’s family for this Thursday, during an initial appearance at the meeting held at the Interior headquarters.

French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne on Wednesday called for calm and assured that “justice will be done”, since the police intervention “did not conform to the rules of action”. In the morning, Macron had already stated that what happened was an act “inexplicable” and “inexcusable”. Following these statements, the founder of La Francia Insumisa (LFI), Jean-Luc Mélenchon, called for justice and criticized the government’s words: “The watchdogs order us to call for calm. We ask for justicewithdraw the legal action against poor Nahel, the deceased young man, and suspend the murderous policeman and his accomplice who ordered him to shoot”.

For the far-right Marine Le Pen, LFI “clearly appeals to disorder and violence” in France and has called on the authorities to take action. “A power that abandons all constitutional principles for fear of riots, contributes to aggravate them,” she said on Twitter this Thursday.