Protesters indignant after The police fatally shot a 17-year-old boy set fire to cars and public buildings within the suburbs of Paris, and the unrest spread to other French cities and towns, despite increased security efforts and the president’s calls for calm.
The killing of 17-year-old Nael during Tuesday’s roadside check, captured on video, shocked the country and sparked long-lasting tensions between young people and police in housing estates and other less-favoured neighborhoods in France.
Nael’s name has not been released by the authorities or his family.
Clashes first broke out on Tuesday evening within the Paris suburb of Nanterre, where Nael was killed, and the federal government sent 2,000 police officers to keep up order on Wednesday. However the violence resumed after dark.
In response to a national police spokesman, police and firefighters fought to contain the protesters and put out quite a few fires which have destroyed schools, police stations and city halls or other public buildings.
On Thursday, national police reported fires or skirmishes in multiple cities overnight, from Toulouse within the south to Lille within the north, although Nanterre and other Paris suburbs were the nexus of tensions.
![According to a national police spokesman, police and firefighters fought to contain the protesters and put out numerous fires that have destroyed schools, police stations and city halls or other public buildings.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/France_Police_Shooting_62476-74a27.jpg?w=1024)
![On Thursday, national police reported fires or skirmishes in multiple cities overnight, from Toulouse in the south to Lille in the north, although Nanterre and other Paris suburbs were the nexus of tensions.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/APTOPIX_France_Police_Shooting_84520-12679.jpg?w=1024)
Police arrested 150 people across the country, greater than half of them within the Paris region, the spokesman said.
In response to police rules, she was not authorized to make her name public.
The variety of injured was not immediately revealed.
French President Emmanuel Macron called an emergency security meeting on Thursday over the violence.
Multiple vehicles were set on fire in Nanterre, with protesters setting off fireworks and throwing rocks on the police, who repeatedly fired volleys of tear gas.
Flames shot up from three floors of the constructing, and a hearth was reported at the facility station.
![The killing of 17-year-old Nael during Tuesday's roadside check, captured on video, shocked the country and sparked long-lasting tensions between young people and the police.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/France.jpg?w=682)
![Multiple vehicles were set on fire in Nanterre, with protesters setting off fireworks and throwing rocks at the police, who repeatedly fired volleys of tear gas.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/APTOPIX_France_Police_Shooting_15641-67064.jpg?w=1024)
A hearth destroyed the town hall within the Paris suburb of L’Ile-Saint-Denis, near France’s national stadium and headquarters Olympic Games Paris 2024.
In response to the prosecutor’s office in Nanterre, the policeman charged with the murder is in custody on suspicion of manslaughter and will face indictment as early as Thursday.
Nael’s mother called on Thursday for a silent march in his honor within the square where he was murdered.
French activists have renewed calls for addressing what they see as systemic police abuses, particularly in neighborhoods just like the one where Nael lived, where many residents struggle with poverty and racial or class discrimination.
![The government sent 2,000 police officers on Wednesday to maintain order. But the violence resumed after dark.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/shutterstock_editorial_Riots_in_Nanterre_after_teenag_13989745p.jpg?w=1024)
![Nael's mother called on Thursday for a silent march in his honor in the square where he was murdered.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/AFP_33LE7JN.jpg?w=1024)
Government officials condemned the killing and sought to distance themselves from the police officer’s actions.
Macron called the killing “inexplicable and inexcusable” and called for calm. “Nothing justifies the death of a teenager,” he told reporters in Marseille on Wednesday.
Videos of the shooting shared online show two police officers leaning into the window on the driver’s side of the yellow automotive before the vehicle drives away as one among the officers shoots through the window.
The video shows the automotive later crashing right into a nearby pole.
The driver died on the scene, the prosecutor’s office said.
Bouquets of orange and yellow roses now mark the positioning of the shooting in Nelson Mandela Square in Nanterre.
Chatting with Parliament, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said: “The shocking images that were broadcast yesterday show an intervention that appears clearly incompatible with the principles of engagement of our police force.”
Lethal use of firearms is less common in France than in the US, although several people have been killed or injured by the hands of French police lately, prompting demands for greater accountability.
France also witnessed protests against racial profiling and other injustices following the killing of George Floyd by Minnesota police.
When asked about police abuses, Macron said justice should work.
Nael’s family’s lawyer, Yassine Bouzrou, told The Associated Press that they need the police officer to be prosecuted for murder, not manslaughter.
![The aftermath of violent fires that broke out after a 17-year-old boy was killed by police in France.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/AFP_33LJ2V7.jpg?w=1024)
French soccer star Kylian Mbappe, who grew up within the Paris suburb of Bondy, was amongst many shocked by what happened.
“I suffer for my France,” he tweeted.