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| causes = *[[Killing of Nahel Merzouk]]
| causes = *[[Killing of Nahel Merzouk]]
*[[Police brutality in France|Police brutality]]
*[[Police brutality in France|Police brutality]]
|date=1 July 2023 |last=Hockstader |first=Lee |work=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=1 July 2023}}</ref>
*[[Racism in France|Racism]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/07/01/france-riots-burning-police-violence/ |title=French cities are in flames over systemic racism |date=1 July 2023 |last=Hockstader |first=Lee |work=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=1 July 2023}}</ref>
| methods = Protests, [[civil disobedience]], [[civil resistance]], [[riot]]s
| methods = Protests, [[civil disobedience]], [[civil resistance]], [[riot]]s
| result =
| result =

Revision as of 22:46, 1 July 2023

Nahel Merzouk protests
Part of police brutality in France
Urban violence in Planoise
Date27 June 2023 – present (1 year and 2 days)
Location
France and its territories
Caused by
MethodsProtests, civil disobedience, civil resistance, riots
Casualties, arrests, and damages
Death(s)2 confirmed[2][3][4]
Injuries522 officers[5]
Arrested2,400+[6]
Property damage750+ businesses damaged[5] 4000+ vehicles

The Nahel Merzouk protests are a series of ongoing civil disturbances in France that began on 27 June 2023 following the killing of Nahel Merzouk. In Nanterre, residents started a protest outside the police headquarters on 27 June, which later escalated into rioting as demonstrators set cars alight, thrashed bus stops, and shot fireworks at police.[7] In Viry-Châtillon, just south of Paris, a group of youths reportedly set a bus ablaze.[8]

In Mantes-la-Jolie, a town 40 km northwest of Paris,[9] the town hall was set ablaze after being firebombed[10] on the night of 27 June, burning until 3:15 (CEST).[8] Clashes continued throughout the night across France, including Toulouse and Lille.[8] Unrest was also reported in Asnières, Colombes, Suresnes, Aubervilliers, Clichy-sous-Bois and Mantes-la-Jolie.[11]

By 29 June, over 150 people had been arrested,[12] 24 officers had been injured, and 40 cars had been torched[13][14] Fearing greater unrest, Gérald Darmanin, Interior Minister of France, deployed 1,200 riot police and gendarmes in and around Paris, later adding an additional 2,000.[14][8][13] On 29 June, Darmanin announced that the government would deploy 40,000 officers nationwide.[15]

On 29 June, a vigil march was held in Nanterre in memory of Merzouk.[16]

Background

Police brutality in France

Further information: Crime in France, Law enforcement in France, and Police brutality in France

In modern history,[when?] France has faced several instances of police brutality. The 2005 French riots were spurred by the deaths of two Muslim boys, Zyed Benna and Bouna Traoré, who were electrocuted while hiding from police in a power substation. Then-prime minister Dominique de Villepin and then Minister of the Interior Nicolas Sarkozy suggested that the boys were thieves. Then president Jacques Chirac declared a state of emergency. The protests lasted three weeks and more than 4,000 people were arrested.[17] In 2016, the death of Adama Traoré spurred protests; his older brother arrested with him was wanted for extortion with violence against a disabled woman;[18] and his sister, Assa Traoré, became a driving force for France's Black Lives Matter, and her campaign became part of the George Floyd protests in France.[19] The yellow vests protests in 2018 saw increased scrutiny of police brutality,[20] as did the beating of Michel Zecler, a black music producer.[21] The French Parliament passed a law permitting police to shoot at a vehicle fleeing a traffic stop that resulted in thirteen fatalities in 2022.[22]

Killing of Nahel Merzouk

Main article: Killing of Nahel Merzouk

On 27 June 2023, at approximately 7:55 a.m. CEST, two officers spotted a Mercedes-AMG with a Polish plate speeding along a bus lane on Boulevard Jacques-Germain-Soufflot in Hauts-de-Seine, Île-de-France heading towards the Nanterre-Université rail station. One officer fired at the vehicle at 8:16, and two of the passengers in the Mercedes fled the vehicle at 8:19.[23] The driver, Nahel Merzouk, was threatened and shot by police. He was pronounced dead at 9:15 a.m.[5]

Protests

In France

Riots were reported after Merzouk's death in Nanterre. The death was filmed which fueled the riots. There were riots in Nanterre where the boy was killed; there were also protests in Paris. Rioters threw projectiles at police, let off fireworks, and set cars, bus shelters, rubbish bins, and a music school on fire. Fires were also lit near the tracks of the RER A.[24] This rioting lasted until the following day in Nanterre and other areas, including Clichy-sous-Bois, Colombes, and Roubaix. By the end of the day, there were at least 20 police officers injured, 10 police cars damaged, and 31 arrested.[25] In response to the riots, France deployed 2,000 police officers and soldiers of the gendarmerie to deal with the outbreak.[26]

On 28 June, riots were reported in Amiens, Dijon, Lyon, Lille, Saint-Étienne, Clermont-Ferrand, Strasbourg, spreading beyond Paris' metropolitan area.[27] French media reported numerous incidents around the Greater Paris region. There were reports of fireworks being directed at the Montreuil Town Hall which is located at the eastern edge of Paris.[28] Fresnes Prison was also targeted by fireworks.[29] In Toulouse, arson and clashes between 100 demonstrators and police in the Reynerie district resulted in 13 arrests and 20 vehicles burned.[27] There were attacks reported on 27 national police stations (including 7 by arson), 4 gendarmerie barracks, 14 municipal police stations (including 10 by arson), 8 town halls, 6 schools, and 6 public buildings.[30] Clashing and the burning of vehicles continued in Nanterre; police stations in Suresnes, Bois-Colombes and Gennevilliers as well as municipal police stations in Meudon were attacked. Fires were set at media libraries, a construction machine in Clichy-sous-Bois, a school in Puteaux, and a tram in Clamart. Looting was reported in Colombes and town halls were attacked in Meudon and Châtenay-Malabry.[31] In total, more than 90 public buildings were attacked.[32] In Paris, clashes erupted in the 18th and 19th arrondissements, while fires were set in the 15th arrondissement.[29] Nationwide, at least 150 people were arrested,[27] 170 police officers were injured, and 609 vehicles plus 109 buildings were damaged.[30]

On 29 June, over 6,200 people participated in a march in support of Merzouk's family in Nanterre. By evening, tensions erupted and the BRI were sent to the scene. Buses and trams stopped running by evening to prevent damage, and several communes such as Clamart, Compiègne, and Savigny-le-Temple implemented curfews, with Savigny-le-Temple implementing a curfew only for minors.[30] There were also reports of clashes with the police and more looting, arson and tyre-burning in Paris, Nanterre and Marseille.[33][34][35][unreliable source?] In Nanterre, rioters vandalised the Memorial to the Martyrs of the Deportation, which remembers victims of the Holocaust in Vichy France.[36] There was a reported sports car crash into the Bellevue LIDL in Nantes.[37][unreliable source?] There were also reports of the Clichy-sous-Bois town hall being set on fire by rioters.[38][unreliable source?] The riots spilled over to Brussels, the capital of Belgium.[39] Nationwide, there were 875 arrests on the night of June 29.[40]

On 30 June Rioters in Marseille targeted the city's largest public library, the Bibliothèque l'Alcazar. The library's security system prevented the rioters from entering. However, the edifice did sustain broken windows and some fire damage.[41] Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin has ordered all buses and trams to stop nationwide from 21:00.[42] President Emmanuel Macron canceled his Germany trip so that he can handle the issue. It was while Macron took part in an Elton John performance despite the demonstrations and violent clashes.[43][44]

French territories

In French Guiana, protests erupted in reaction to the protests in France. One person was killed.[45]

Reactions

In the same speech where Macron denounced the police actions, he also called for protestors to be peaceful.[14] Macron called upon parents to exercise influence on their children. He was critical of social media promoting videos of the urban conflict and complained of violence in video games which he said had "intoxicated" some teenagers.[46] The Interior Ministry urged for calm after the first day of unrest.[47] Nanterre mayor Patrick Jarry, though expressing "shock" over the video,[48] declared on a 28 June news conference that the prefecture had undergone "one of the worst days of its history", urging citizens to "stop this destructive spiral", and adding that "we want justice for Merzouk; we will obtain it through peaceful mobilization."[8]

According to BBC analysis, the thirteen deaths related to refusal to submit to traffic stops last year, along with the amplifying effects of social media, made the memory of the unrest in 2005 a key reason why Macron and the French political establishment have swiftly reacted to calm matters. During his presidency, there has already been significant urban violence on the margins of the yellow vests protests and the protests resulting from reforms of the French pension system.[49]

References

  1. ^ Hockstader, Lee (1 July 2023). "French cities are in flames over systemic racism". The Washington Post. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
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  3. ^ "INFO RTL – Un jeune homme qui participait aux émeutes est mort après une chute". www.rtl.fr (in French). 30 June 2023. Archived from the original on 30 June 2023. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  4. ^ "Emeutes dans les banlieues: le jeune homme blessé durant une attaque est décédé". 1 July 2023.
  5. ^ a b c Xu, Xiaofei; Brennan, Eve; Otto, Claudia; Kappeler, Inke; Tanno, Sophie (1 July 2023). "Funeral held for French teenager after more than 1,300 detained in fourth night of protests". CNN. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
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  42. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 30 June 2023. Retrieved 30 June 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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