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France Police Shooting: France has been gripped by a range of violent incidents including riots, protests, and loot. Videos of people taking to streets and vehicles being set on fire are doing the rounds of social media and the scenes are horrific, to say the least. Police officers have fiercely clashed with the protestors and the scenario keeps getting worse as each day passes.
As per multiple media reports, the protests have evoked a crisis response from French President Emmanuel Macron, who held an emergency meeting with ministers to assess the situation as he makes attempts to unite the country in his second term. So what led to the unrest? Was it racism or police brutality? We are here to give you key facts related to the situation.
What sparked unrest in France?
It all started when a police officer fatally shot a 17-year-old, named Nahel, near Paris. Nahel was reportedly driving a car when he was shot at close range at a traffic stop near Nelson Mandela Square on Tuesday morning. Nahel reportedly died from a single shot through his left arm and chest. Police and paramedics tried to resuscitate him but he was declared dead later, Reuters reported. As per the report, an officer told investigators that he wanted to avoid another chase as he feared another person would get hurt.
Activists believe that it was Nahel’s race that played a factor in his killing. His killing has put a spotlight on the alleged Police discrimination against minoritized communities in France.
Nahel’s killing has been compared to the killings of George Floyd in the US and other people of color at the hands of law enforcement. As per an AP report, despite the differences between the culture of the US and France, the shootings have shown how the US is not alone in its struggles with systemic racism and police brutality.
What exactly happened at the traffic stop?
According to a Reuters report, local prosecutor Pascal Prache said that the French Police spotted Nehal driving a Mercedes in a bus lane at 7:55 am on the outskirts of Paris. They tried to pull over the car with the help of sirens and lights but Nehal disobeyed and committed many traffic offenses endangering the lives of pedestrians.
The police then caught up with the car in a traffic jam and officers tried to stop him by asking him to turn off the ignition but when the car tried to get away again, an office fired at close range through the driver’s window.
Nahel’s death was caught on video which reignited longstanding complaints by poor and racially mixed urban communities of police violence and racism, reported Reuters.
Violence spreads, call for more troops
The protests have spread to cities like Marseille, Lyon, Toulouse, Strasbourg, and Lille as well as Paris where Nahel was fatally shot. Around 45,000 police officers and some armoured vehicles were deployed on the streets on Saturday.
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin has revealed that 270 people were arrested on Friday, bringing the total to more than 1,100 since protests started, Reuters reported. Marseille Mayor Benoit Payan called on the national government to immediately send additional troops.
The report further added that in Lyon, France’s third-largest city, the police force deployed armoured personnel carriers and a helicopter to quell the unrest.
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