Why is France rioting? What to know about the fatal police shooting of Nahel M

A teenager's death at the hands of police has sparked widespread protests.

ByMorgan Winsor and Anna Rabemanantsoa
July 4, 2023, 7:16 AM

LONDON and PARIS -- France has been beset by violent unrest in recent days after a police officer shot and killed a teenager in a Paris suburb.

Here's what we know about the situation.

PHOTO: A protester holds a banner reading "Justice for Nahel" as cars burn in the street in the Paris suburb of Nanterre, France, on June 29, 2023, at the end of a commemoration march for a 17-year-old driver who was shot dead by a police officer.
A protester holds a banner reading "Justice for Nahel" as cars burn in the street in the Paris suburb of Nanterre, France, on June 29, 2023, at the end of a commemoration march for a 17-year-old driver who was shot dead by a police officer two days earlier.
Bertrand Guay/AFP via Getty Images

What sparked the protests?

A17-year-old driver was shot dead by a police officer during a traffic check in the northwestern Paris suburb of Nanterre on the morning of June 27. The officer has been detained on suspicion of voluntary homicide amid an ongoing investigation into the incident, according to the local prosecutor's office.

Nanterre prosecutor Pascal Prache said the officer did not meet the requirements to discharge his weapon and will remain in custody awaiting trial.

PHOTO: Flowers are seen at the site where 17-year-old Nahel M. was shot and killed by a police officer in Nanterre, a suburb of Paris, France, on June 29, 2023. The message reads "Peace to Nael, may the earth be light to you."
Flowers are seen at the site where 17-year-old Nahel M. was shot and killed by a police officer in Nanterre, a suburb of Paris, France, on June 29, 2023. The message reads "Peace to Nael, may the earth be light to you."
Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters

France's Inspectorate General of the National Police, which investigates allegations of police misconduct, is also conducting a probe into the fatal shooting.

Lawyers for the victim's family identified him as Nahel M., a French citizen of Algerian descent who lived in a working-class area of Nanterre. The lawyers told ABC News that they have filed complaints against the officer accused of pulling the trigger and another officer who was at the scene.

Nahel was laid to rest in Nanterre on July 1, after a funeral service at a mosque that drew hundreds of attendees.

PHOTO: Police clash with rioters in Nanterre, a suburb of Paris, France, on June 28, 2023, a day after an officer shot and killed a 17-year-old driver during a traffic check.
Police clash with rioters in Nanterre, a suburb of Paris, France, on June 28, 2023, a day after an officer shot and killed a 17-year-old driver during a traffic check.
Christophe Ena/AP

How has France reacted?

Widespread riots erupted in the streets of France following Nahel's death, with at least five consecutive nights of violence. While tensions have remained highest in the Paris suburbs, almost every French region has been hit with unrest since the fatal shooting.

Angry protesters have clashed with riot police and more than 3,000 people have been arrested nationwide over the past week, according to the French Ministry of the Interior.

PHOTO: Cars burn in the street in the Paris suburb of Nanterrie, France, on June 29, 2023, following a commemoration march for 17-year-old Nahel M. who was shot dead by a police officer two days earlier.
Cars burn in the street in the Paris suburb of Nanterrie, France, on June 29, 2023, following a commemoration march for 17-year-old Nahel M. who was shot dead by a police officer two days earlier.
Bertrand Guay/AFP via Getty Images

On several nights, rioters erected barricades, threw fireworks at police, ransacked businesses and set fires to thousands of cars and buildings. Police stations, schools and town halls were among the buildings targeted, the interior ministry said.

As a result, more than 40,000 law enforcement officers have been deployed across France at night to quell violence, using tear gas, water cannons and non-lethal dispersion grenades against rioters. Hundreds of those officers have been injured, according to the interior ministry. It was unclear how many protesters were injured.

PHOTO: People look at a building burned during nighttime clashes between protesters and police in Roubaix, northern France, on June 30, 2023, three days after 17-year-old Nahel M. was shot dead by an officer in a Paris suburb.
People look at a building burned during nighttime clashes between protesters and police in Roubaix, northern France, on June 30, 2023, three days after 17-year-old Nahel M. was shot dead by an officer in a Paris suburb.
Pascal Rossignol/Reuters

Meanwhile, the French government canceled large-scale events around the country and curfews were put in place in multiple cities.

Both French President Emmanuel Macron and French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin have repeatedly called for "calm" as authorities investigate the fatal shooting.

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