Four days after the death of 17-year-old Nahel during a police check near Paris, friends and relatives said goodbye to him. Around noon, according to the daily newspaper “Le Parisien”, a funeral service began in the mosque in Nanterre near Paris.
The family had wished that no press should attend the funeral service and the subsequent burial. The youth’s death had sparked riots across the country.
“Le Parisien” reported that a white coffin was laid out in the mosque around noon. A security zone was set up around the building, to which only selected people had access. The newspaper “Le Figaro” wrote that hundreds of people attended the funeral ceremonies.
That happened
The 17-year-old was stopped at the wheel of a car by a motorcycle patrol in Nanterre on Tuesday. When the young man suddenly drove off, a fatal shot fell from a police officer’s service weapon.
The officials had initially stated that the young people had wanted to run over them. It was only when video images of the incident, verified by the media, spread on social networks that they moved away from this portrayal and the alleged intention to kill the young person. The police officer blamed for his death has been taken into custody. A formal investigation into manslaughter was initiated against him.
The incident caused consternation across the country, and France has been shaken by violent riots ever since.
Night riots
According to a preliminary report by the Ministry of the Interior, 1,311 people were arrested on Saturday night – significantly more than in the previous nights. 406 people were arrested in Paris alone. 79 police officers were injured. There were significantly more the night before.
1350 cars burned out
France’s interior minister, Gérald Darmanin, said the violence that night was “less intense” than before. He deployed 45,000 police officers nationwide at night, including special forces. But despite the massive police presence with armored vehicles and helicopters, fires and looting broke out in many places. According to the Interior Ministry, 1,350 cars burned out. There were a total of 2,560 fires on public roads. In addition, 31 police stations were attacked. According to the authorities, 1,900 cars burned out the previous night.
While things seemed to be quieter in the Paris area than in the previous nights, the situation in southern France came to a head. According to media reports, an armory was looted in Marseille and seven rifles were stolen. The police union Alliance Police spoke on the television channel franceinfo of a “night full of chaos with scenes of unprecedented violence against the police, looting, mortar fire.” A post office exploded in Lyon. City halls were torched across the country.
