France police shooting: 180 arrested in violence over teenager's killing
The police in France have arrested at least 180 protesters as the country witnessed nationwide violent protests for the second day. According to reports, the deadly shooting of a 17-year-old pizza delivery boy by a police officer on Tuesday led to riots in more than a dozen cities. On Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron said the violence spread across the country was "absolutely unjustifiable."
Why does this story matter?
On Tuesday, a police officer allegedly shot the boy, Nahel M, during a traffic stop in Nanterre, west of Paris, in broad daylight. The teenager, who was in a Mercedes AMG car with two others, died an hour later. The incident triggered massive protests in France, during which 170 police personnel were reportedly injured and several vehicles were set ablaze.
Accused to be produced before judges on Thursday
Following the outrage, the accused was taken into custody and will be presented before investigative judges on Thursday. Meanwhile, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said the officer would be suspended from his job. He added that around 40,000 police officers have been deployed across France, a significant increase from the 9,000 personnel who were deployed on Wednesday.
Visuals of violence in France
Seeing violence against schools, town halls: Macron
During a crisis meeting on Thursday, Macron said, "Clearly the emotion that comes with the death of a young man calls for contemplation and calm, and it's what the government has constantly called for." "The last hours have been marked by violent scenes against police stations but also schools and town halls, and basically against institutions and the Republic. It's absolutely unjustifiable," he added.
Macron's Twitter post
Accused officer wholly responsible for killing: Government
Moreover, Macron's government has pinned the blame for the teenager's death wholly on the officer involved. Denying institutional responsibility, government spokesman Olivier Véran told CNN, "It's not the Republic that killed this young man. Nor is it the police of the Republic who is responsible for this [the killing]. It is one man, who must be judged if the justice system deems it necessary."
Public outrage intensified due to 'contradictory' reports
Notably, the public's outrage was intensified by the manner in which the episode was revealed. Initial reports claimed the boy had plowed into officers during the traffic stop. However, those reports were contradicted by a video of the shooting, which showed the officer in no danger as the vehicle pulled away.
Viral video of teenager's shooting
Opposition calls for state of emergency
As per The New York Times, some far and far-right politicians are calling for the government to declare a state of emergency in areas of violent protests. "Calm and order must be urgently reestablished," Eric Ciotti, the head of France's conservative Republican Party, said. However, the government has denied such requests. "We are not in those circumstances," Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said.
Additional details related to incident
The boy reportedly died after a bullet penetrated through his arm and chest. Further, as there were two officers on the spot, the lawyers for the boy decided to file cases against both of them. CNN reported that the victim had previous encounters with authorities due to a "breach of rules." He was scheduled to appear before a juvenile court in September.
