France witnessed a second consecutive night of turmoil as masked protesters, burning debris and launching fireworks, clashed violently with security forces, AFP reported Wednesday.
These demonstrations were fueled by the tragic shooting of a teenager by the police.
Seventeen-year-old Nahel M was fatally shot in the chest at point-blank range on Tuesday morning.
The incident has reignited a passionate debate in France about police tactics, which have long faced criticism from human rights groups for their treatment of residents in impoverished suburbs, particularly those from ethnic minority backgrounds.
In honour of her beloved and only child, the teenager's mother has called for a march on Thursday as a heartfelt tribute.
As darkness descended on Wednesday, the clashes that had initially erupted in neighbourhoods around the capital spread to other cities in France, including Toulouse, Dijon, and Lyon.
To maintain control, approximately 2,000 riot police were deployed to Paris and its surrounding suburbs, leading to 77 arrests by 2:00 am on Thursday, according to the local police.
In the western Hauts-de-Seine region of Paris, where the tragic shooting occurred, a second consecutive night of confrontations unfolded. Masked protesters dressed in black hurled fireworks and firecrackers at the security forces. The area was filled with thick smoke as numerous cars and garbage cans were set ablaze, and road barriers were used to block off streets.
On the walls of a building, graffiti demanding "justice for Nahel" and condemning police violence could be seen. The atmosphere in the working-class 18th and 19th districts of northeastern Paris was particularly tense. As police attempted to disperse the protesters by firing flashballs, the crowd responded defiantly by throwing bottles instead of dispersing.
“We are sick of being treated like this. This is for Nahel, we are Nahel,” said two young men calling themselves “Avengers” as they wheeled rubbish bins from a nearby estate to add to a burning barricade.
One said his family had lived in France for three generations but “they are never going to accept us.”
In the Essonne region south of the capital, a group set a bus on fire after forcing all the passengers off, police said, while in Clamart a tram was set on fire.
In the southern city of Toulouse, several cars were torched and responding police and firefighters were pelted with projectiles, a police source said, while authorities reported similar scenes in Dijon and Lyon.
At France’s second-largest prison complex, Fresnes, protesters attacked security at the entrance with fireworks, a police source said.
“They did not enter the prison grounds. The police were quickly called in,” the source added.
Police said that in Seine-Saint-Denis, multiple cars, stores and a library were set on fire, shops looted, police stations attacked and town halls damaged.
Tensions also flared in Roubaix, Amiens and Nice.
Hoping to tamp down the spreading violence, authorities have pleaded for calm.
On Wednesday morning, the Nanterre town hall urged an end to the “destructive spiral,” while the government issued rare criticism of the security forces.
“A teenager was killed. That is inexplicable and unforgivable,” French President Emmanuel Macron said during an official visit to Marseille, southern France.
The victim, identified as Nahel M. from Nanterre, was pulled over for breaking traffic rules while driving a yellow Mercedes on Tuesday morning.
Police initially reported that an officer had shot at the teenager because he was driving at him, but this was contradicted by a video circulating on social media and authenticated by AFP.
The footage shows the two policemen standing by the side of the stationary car, with one pointing a weapon at the driver.
A voice is heard saying: “You are going to get a bullet in the head.”
The police officer then appears to fire as the car abruptly drives off.
The victim, Nahel, was a delivery driver who had dropped out of high school.
He “wasn’t a delinquent,” a 55-year-old woman who said she knew him said near his home on Wednesday.
Celebrities also voiced disgust and outrage.
“I am hurting for my France,” tweeted Kylian Mbappe, captain of the French men’s national football team and star player at Paris Saint-Germain.
France is haunted by the prospect of a repeat of the 2005 riots sparked by the death of two black boys during a police chase. Those protests resulted in around 6,000 people being arrested.
“There are all the ingredients for another explosion potentially,” one government advisor said on condition of anonymity.
Last year, 13 people were killed after refusing to stop for police traffic checks, with a law change in 2017 that gave officers greater powers to use their weapons now under scrutiny.
But the shooting also follows a series of deaths among serving police officers that have provoked public sympathy.
“What I see on this video is the execution by police of a 17-year-old kid, in France, in 2023, in broad daylight,” said Greens party leader Marine Tondelier said.
But far-right leader Marine Le Pen said the officer was entitled to the “presumption of innocence.”
The 38-year-old policeman filmed firing the lethal shot was taken into custody and is under investigation for voluntary manslaughter.
Nahel M.’s lawyer, Yassine Bouzrou, said he would file an additional complaint for false testimony over the allegation that Nahel had tried to run them over.
There were two passengers in the car. One ran off and the other, also a teenager, was briefly detained.