Turmoil in France: Riots across major cities after police shooting of Algerian Muslim teen

Following the police shooting of a 17-year-old Algerian Muslim, France has witnessed widespread and intensifying riots, leading authorities to mobilize 40,000 police officers across major cities, including Paris, on Thursday night.

The rioting was triggered by an incident on Tuesday, where a police officer fatally shot Nahel M. during a traffic stop in Nanterre, located west of Paris. According to Reuters, the teenager was driving in the bus lane during a traffic jam when the officer signaled him to stop.

However, Nahel M. refused to present his license and attempted to drive away. In response, the officer fired shots, hitting him in the left arm and chest. The Nanterre public prosecutor confirmed these details and stated that the officer was concerned that the teenager might engage in a car chase and endanger others. The police noted that Nahel M. had a history of disregarding traffic stops.

“He had to be stopped, but obviously (the officer) didn’t want to kill the driver,” the police officer’s attorney stated.

Reports of riots emerged from various cities across France, spanning from Paris, where numerous buses were set ablaze and store windows were shattered along the rue de Rivoli, to Roubaix in the north, Marseille in the south, as well as Reims and Lyon.

Disturbances also occurred in Drancy, a suburb of Paris, where a shopping mall was burned, and in Marseille, where the country’s largest library was set on fire. Additionally, the headquarters of the Paris 2024 Olympics located in Seine-Saint-Denis were subjected to arson.

France is having its very own George Floyd moment as massive riots, sparked by the police shooting death of a 17 year old, occur all across the country. pic.twitter.com/2wbYYW4xLe

— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) June 29, 2023

“These acts are intolerable and inexcusable,” French Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne stated.

“The state must be firm in its response,” Darmanin stated, adding that 875 people were arrested on Thursday night.

“The rioting has escalated,” France 24’s international affairs editor Angela Diffley said. “It appears to be morphing into something closer to general rioting. We saw a huge amount of looting and pillaging of ordinary businesses and some high-end shops.”

The French President, Emmanuel Macron, expressed condemnation for the killing of Nahel M. Furthermore, his government had previously taken measures to impose restrictions on various mosques and Muslim associations that were deemed by the authorities as promoting “Islamist separatism.”

According to Itay Lotem, a senior lecturer in French studies at the University of Westminster, the sequence of events following Nahel M’s death appeared “nearly well-rehearsed,” adding that, “A police officer kills a teenager from one of the underprivileged communities around Paris, triggering ripples of anger. Groups of disaffected youth take to the streets of the banlieue and target symbols of the state, whether police stations or schools.”