The grandmother of the teenager who was fatally shot by police during a traffic stop in a Paris suburb expressed her desire for the ongoing nationwide riots, sparked by her grandson’s killing, to come to an end. Following the fifth night of unrest, she voiced her concern that the rioters were exploiting her 17-year-old grandson Nahel’s death as a pretext for causing chaos, emphasizing her family’s plea for calm.
The government reported that the latest riots, which occurred after Nahel’s funeral in the Paris suburb of Nanterre on Saturday, were relatively less intense than the previous night. Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin announced that 45,000 police officers would once again be deployed on Sunday night.
Since Nahel’s shooting, the rioters have engaged in acts of arson, looting stores, and even targeting state institutions such as town halls and police stations. Shockingly, the home of the mayor of L’Hay-les-Roses, near Paris, was attacked while his wife and children were asleep inside.
President Emmanuel Macron postponed his planned state visit to Germany, which was supposed to begin on Sunday, in order to address the most severe crisis his leadership has faced since the “Yellow Vest” protests that gripped France in late 2018.
In mid-April, Macron set a 100-day timeframe to bring about reconciliation and unity in a divided country, following widespread strikes and occasionally violent protests against his decision to raise the retirement age—an electoral promise he had made.
However, instead of achieving this goal, Nahel’s tragic death has amplified long-standing grievances regarding discrimination, police violence, and systemic racism within law enforcement agencies, despite authorities denying such allegations. These concerns have been voiced by rights groups and echoed within the low-income, racially diverse suburbs surrounding major French cities.
The involved police officer has admitted to firing the lethal shot, according to the state prosecutor, stating that he did so to prevent a dangerous police chase. His lawyer, Laurent-Franck Lienard, has claimed that the officer did not intend to kill the teenager.
