Beth Williams
President Macron held an emergency cabinet meeting on Sunday night as riots, sparked by accusations of police brutality and systemic racism, continue across France.
Police Shooting in Nanterre
Recent violence was sparked after a teenage boy was shot dead by police on 27 June. 17 year-old Nahel M was killed in the Paris suburb of Nanterre during a traffic stop.
“A refusal to stop doesn’t give you a licence to kill”
Released footage shows two police officers leaning through the car’s window with their guns. Nahel, who was too young to have a driver’s licence, attempted to drive away. The teen was then shot point-blank in the chest and declared dead at the scene.
Speaking of the incident, Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure said, “a refusal to stop doesn’t give you a licence to kill” because “all the children of the Republic have a right to justice”. The officer responsible for the shooting has been detained on suspicion of voluntary homicide.
A Week On: Violence Continues
Riots have spiralled from Nanterre and Paris, to cities across France, including Lille, Dijon and Toulouse. Protestors have damaged and vandalised buildings across France. Multiple town halls, as well as the Aubervilliers Aquatic Centre, a training site for Paris’ 2024 Olympic Games, have faced fire-related damages.
Over 45,000 police officers have been deployed in an attempt to control protestors. Hundreds of police officers, emergency service workers, and protesters have been injured in the clashes.
Over the weekend, the house of suburban Paris mayor, Vincent Jeanbrun, was ‘rammed’ into by a car. While Jeanburn was not home at the time, his wife suffered a broken leg and a child was also injured.
Vincent Jeanbrun, the mayor of a Paris suburb, said his wife and child were injured after rioters ram-raided their house during nationwide unrest over the police shooting of a teenager https://t.co/zgdZ44EM8J pic.twitter.com/oPP0a5EyBF
— Reuters (@Reuters) July 2, 2023
After five days and pleas from Nahel’s family, violent protests are seemingly calming down. 49 protesters were arrested on Sunday, compared to 719 arrests on Saturday.
Emmanuel Macron’s Reaction
President Emmanuel Macron reacted to the shooting by calling it “inexplicable and inexcusable. Nothing justifies the death of a young person”.
“a third of those arrested were young people”
He has taken a gentle approach to defusing the protests. Macron pleaded directly to parents to keep their teenagers at home as it was revealed that a third of those arrested were young people.
The President has also blamed social media for heightening tension and encouraging riots. He claims that violent gatherings have been planned via social media sites, with the sharing of images and videos coaxing others to take part.
President Emmanuel Macron has condemned violent protests that engulfed France after a teenager was shot dead by police: "Nothing can justify violence." pic.twitter.com/s4o8uZuv0w
— DW News (@dwnews) July 1, 2023
He has cancelled a state visit to Germany, which was due to commence on Sunday, in order to deal with the crisis. Instead, Macron is set to meet with the mayors of 220 towns and cities that have been affected by violence on Tuesday.
Despite calls from across the political spectrum, Macron has resisted from declaring a state of emergency.
France’s History of Police Brutality
Nahel’s death marks the third police shooting during a traffic stop in 2023 and once again brings France’s policing tactics into question. Most of the victims of this kind of police brutality since 2017 have been of Black or Arab origin.
“French police have also been accused of systemic racism”
The country’s officers are more heavily armed than many other European police forces. They’ve been condemned for their crowd control methods during previous protests and riots, which have risen in prevalence over the last five years.
French police are known to use weapons that have been banned or heavily restricted in other countries, such as water cannons during a recent protest.
French police have also been accused of systemic racism. Many speculate that the teen’s Algerian heritage was a motive in the shooting.
On Friday, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights condemned the tactics of the French police. They called the incident a moment for the country to “seriously address the deep issues of racism and racial discrimination in law enforcement”.
The government’s dismissal of criticism has only fuelled further tension between the public and police, while the investigation into the case continues.
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Image courtesy of Kristoffer Trolle via Wikimedia Commons. Image licence found here. No changes were made to this image.
Beth Williams
Originally from North Wales, Beth is a third year English and Journalism student at Cardiff University. As well as a contributor, Beth is the editor-in-chief of "Gair Rhydd", her university's newspaper. When she isn't writing, you'll find her reading, cooking or on a (very slow) run.