France riots: Teen mother says, 'I blame only one person' amid violent clashes
2 min read 01 Jul 2023, 09:53 AM ISTFrance riots: The mother of a 17-year-old boy killed by a French police officer has blamed only the cop who shot her son, sparking riots across France. The officer is facing a formal investigation for voluntary homicide
PremiumThe mother of a 17-year-old boy, killed by a French Police officer has blamed only that one cop who shot her son, sparking riots across France.
17-year-old Nahel was shot dead during a traffic stop on Tuesday morning in the Paris suburb of Nanterre. Some bystanders filmed the incident that showed two cops standing on the driver's side of the car, one of whom fired his gun on Nahel despite not appearing to be in any immediate danger.
Whereas the officer said that he fired his gun out of fear that the boy would run someone over with the car.
Nanterre prosecutor Pascal Prache said his initial investigation led him to conclude that the officer’s use of his weapon wasn’t legally justified.
Prache said officers tried to pull Nahel over because he looked so young and was driving a Mercedes with Polish license plates in a bus lane. He allegedly ran a red light to avoid being stopped and then got stuck in traffic.
The officer said he feared he and his colleague or someone else could be hit by the car as Nahel attempted to flee, according to the prosecutor.
Meanwhile, Nahel's mother Mounia told television station France 5 in an on-camera interview, " I don't blame the police, I blame only one person, the one who took my son's life".
“He saw a little Arab-looking kid, he wanted to take his life," she said, adding that justice should be “very firm."
The officer who shot the teen is currently facing a formal investigation for voluntary homicide and has been placed in preliminary detention.
Since the death of the teen, young rioters have continued to clash with the police, blazed cars, and looted stores.
France President Emmanuel Macron has appealed to parents to keep children off the streets and blamed social media for fueling violence.
Singling out Snapchat and TikTok, he said they were being used to organize unrest and served as conduits for copycat violence.
Macron said his government would work with technology companies to establish procedures for “the removal of the most sensitive content," adding that he expected “a spirit of responsibility" from them.
Snapchat spokesperson Rachel Racusen said the company has increased its moderation since Tuesday to detect and act on content related to the rioting.
While the situation appeared to be somewhat calmer compared to previous nights, turmoil gripped several cities across the country.
Firefighters in the Parisian suburb of Nanterre, where the shooting occurred Tuesday, extinguished the blazes set by protesters that left scorched remains of cars strewn across the streets.
In the southern Mediterranean port city of Marseille, officers arrested nearly 90 people as groups of protesters lit cars on fire and broke store windows to take what was inside.
Nahel’s burial is scheduled for Saturday, according to Nanterre Mayor Patrick Jarry.
The violence comes just over a year before Paris and other French cities are due to host 10,500 Olympians and millions of visitors for the Summer Olympic Games. Organizers said they are closely monitoring the situation as preparations for the Olympics continue.
Deadly use of firearms is less common in France than in the United States, although 13 people who didn’t comply with traffic stops were fatally shot by French police last year. This year, another three people, including Nahel, died under similar circumstances.
