Paris: The 17-year-old Nahel, who was killed by France police, was laid to rest on Saturday amid lakhs of hushed and visibly anguished protestors but the response from President Emmanuel Macron shocked the entire world. Macron has blamed social media and mobile games for fueling violence. According to him, protestors were mostly young and habituated to violent online games.
It is worth mentioning the country was under massive violent protests after an Alergian root teenager was shot during a traffic stop. The video showed two officers at the window of the car, one with his gun pointed at the driver. As the teenager pulled forward, the officer fired once through the windshield. This week, Nahel’s mother told France 5 television that she was angry at the officer who shot her son, but not at the police in general. “He saw a little Arab-looking kid, he wanted to take his life,” she said.
Deep-rooted Racism in France
Race was a taboo topic for decades in France, which is officially committed to a doctrine of colorblind universalism. Critics say that doctrine has masked generations of systemic racism. The officer accused of killing Nahel was given a preliminary charge of voluntary homicide, meaning that investigating magistrates strongly suspect wrongdoing, but need to investigate more before sending a case to trial. Nanterre prosecutor Pascal Prache said his initial investigation led him to conclude that the officer’s use of his weapon wasn’t legally justified.
Hundreds of police and firefighters have been injured in the violence that erupted after the killing. Authorities haven’t released injury tallies for protesters. In French Guiana, an overseas territory, a 54-year-old died after being hit by a stray bullet. The reaction to the killing was a potent reminder of the persistent poverty, discrimination, unemployment and other lack of opportunity in neighbourhoods around France where many residents trace their roots to former French colonies — like where Nahel grew up.
"Nahel’s story is the lighter that ignited the gas"
“Nahel’s story is the lighter that ignited the gas. Hopeless young people were waiting for it. We lack housing and jobs, and when we have (jobs), our wages are too low,” said Samba Seck, a 39-year-old transportation worker in the Paris suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois. Clichy was the birthplace of weeks of riots in 2005 that shook France, prompted by the deaths of two teenagers electrocuted in a power substation while fleeing from police. One of the boys lived in the same housing project as Seck.
Like many Clichy residents, he lamented the violence targeting his town, where the remains of a burned car stood beneath his apartment building, and the town hall entrance was set alight in rioting this week. “Young people break everything, but we are already poor, we have nothing,” he said, adding that “young people are afraid to die at the hands of police.”
Despite the escalating crisis, Macron held off on declaring a state of emergency, an option used in 2005. But the government ratcheted up its law enforcement response, with the mass deployment of police officers, including some who were called back from vacation.
Over 45k troops deployed
The government deployed 45,000 police to city streets across the nation to head off a fifth night of violence. Overnight, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin tweeted that the night had been calmer than previous ones, thanks to “the resolute action of security forces.” He put the night’s arrest toll at 427.
France’s justice minister, Dupond-Moretti, on Saturday, warned that young people who share calls for violence on Snapchat or other apps could face legal prosecution. Macron has blamed social media for fueling violence. Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire promised government support for shop owners.
“There is no nation without order, without common rules,” he said. Darmanin has ordered a nationwide nighttime shutdown of all public buses and trams, which have been among rioters’ targets. He also said he warned social networks not to allow themselves to be used as channels for calls to violence.
(With inputs from AP)
