More than 400 people were arrested across France Thursday night as riots continued following the police killing of a teenage boy of North African descent.
Roughly 40,000 police officers were deployed across the country to contain the violent protests, which have included fires, fireworks, and projectiles thrown at police, per Al Jazeera. The death of 17-year-old Nahel M., as he has been publicly identified, has ignited racial tensions in France, a country filled with French Algerians, French Moroccans, and French Muslims.
DESANTIS CAMPAIGN TAKES ON ‘BIDENOMICS’ IN NEW VIDEO: ‘EVERYBODY PAYS MORE’
Nahel M. was of Moroccan and Algerian descent. He was killed on Tuesday during a traffic stop in the Paris suburb of Nanterre. Police initially said Nahel tried to ram the car into them, but a video shared online showed officers standing at the side of a stationary car, with one of them holding a weapon out in front of them.
“I’m going to put a bullet in your head,” a voice said in the video before a gun went off and the car drove forward.
First angle of the incident, this is the one that most people have seen.
You can hear one officer say “I’m going to put a bullet in your head” (je vais te mettre une balle dans la tête)
Then the second officer says “shoot!” pic.twitter.com/ygKT9h4wgk
— Richard Medhurst (@richimedhurst) June 29, 2023
The officer who allegedly shot Nahel was detained and charged with voluntary manslaughter.
There has been no evidence that Nahel was targeted because of his race, according to the New York Times. But the killing has sent a shockwave through a great deal of the populace of the country, which has long grappled with its history of colonization and racism.
“He was a nonwhite person in this country,” Syrine Djidi, a 19-year-old university student and dual French Algerian citizen, told the newspaper at Nahel’s vigil Thursday. “Nonwhite people are targeted by the police.”
Politicians and public figures have voiced their anger over the teenage boy’s killing. French President Emmanuel Macron called the killing “inexcusable,” but he has also condemned the violent protests taking place across the country and asked for citizens to let the justice system operate.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Nahel’s death at the hands of police was yet another worldwide example of the impact video footage has on investigations and public outcry. With the irrefutable video of Nahel’s killing , not only was the public upset about the brazen act of violence but also about the fact that it may have shown the officers to be lying about the events that took place.
Protests took place all across France, in and around Paris, in Marseille, in Lille, even spilling out into Brussels, the capital of Belgium. Al Jazeera noted that many people in Nanterre (where Nahel was killed) have not taken part in the riots and have been afraid to walk to school or work, scared to park their cars.
