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| fatalities = 3 (A 50-year-old man, a 19-year-old man and a 21-year-old man)<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-06-30 |title=Un homme décède en Guyane en marge des émeutes déclenchées par la mort de Nahel |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.fr/faits-divers/article/mort-de-nahel-en-guyane-un-homme-decede-en-marge-des-emeutes_220007.html |access-date=2023-06-30 |website=Le HuffPost |language=fr |archive-date=30 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230630202950/https://www.huffingtonpost.fr/faits-divers/article/mort-de-nahel-en-guyane-un-homme-decede-en-marge-des-emeutes_220007.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-06-30 |title=INFO RTL – Un jeune homme qui participait aux émeutes est mort après une chute |url=https://www.rtl.fr/actu/justice-faits-divers/info-rtl-un-jeune-homme-qui-participait-aux-emeutes-en-etat-de-mort-cerebrale-7900279620 |access-date=2023-06-30 |website=www.rtl.fr |language=fr-FR |archive-date=30 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230630202951/https://www.rtl.fr/actu/justice-faits-divers/info-rtl-un-jeune-homme-qui-participait-aux-emeutes-en-etat-de-mort-cerebrale-7900279620 |url-status=live}} </ref><ref>{{Cite web Idate|date=2023-07-01 Ititle|title= Emeutes dans les banlieues: le jeune homme blessé durant une attaque est décédé Iurl|url=https://www.nicematin.com/faits-divers/emeutes-dans-les-banlieues-le-jeune-homme-blesse-durant-une-attaque-est-decede-858266 }}</ref>
| fatalities = 3 (A 50-year-old man, a 19-year-old man and a 21-year-old man)<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-06-30 |title=Un homme décède en Guyane en marge des émeutes déclenchées par la mort de Nahel |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.fr/faits-divers/article/mort-de-nahel-en-guyane-un-homme-decede-en-marge-des-emeutes_220007.html |access-date=2023-06-30 |website=Le HuffPost |language=fr |archive-date=30 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230630202950/https://www.huffingtonpost.fr/faits-divers/article/mort-de-nahel-en-guyane-un-homme-decede-en-marge-des-emeutes_220007.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-06-30 |title=INFO RTL – Un jeune homme qui participait aux émeutes est mort après une chute |url=https://www.rtl.fr/actu/justice-faits-divers/info-rtl-un-jeune-homme-qui-participait-aux-emeutes-en-etat-de-mort-cerebrale-7900279620 |access-date=2023-06-30 |website=www.rtl.fr |language=fr-FR |archive-date=30 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230630202951/https://www.rtl.fr/actu/justice-faits-divers/info-rtl-un-jeune-homme-qui-participait-aux-emeutes-en-etat-de-mort-cerebrale-7900279620 |url-status=live}} </ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-07-01 |title= Emeutes dans les banlieues: le jeune homme blessé durant une attaque est décédé |url=https://www.nicematin.com/faits-divers/emeutes-dans-les-banlieues-le-jeune-homme-blesse-durant-une-attaque-est-decede-858266 }}</ref>
| effect_label = Property damage
| effect_label = Property damage
| effect = 750+ businesses damaged<ref name="CNNInfo"/> <br/>
| effect = 750+ businesses damaged<ref name="CNNInfo"/> <br/>

Revision as of 10:40, 2 July 2023

Nahel Merzouk protests
Urban violence in Planoise
Date27 June 2023 – present (1 year, 1 month, 2 weeks and 4 days)
Location
France (Metropolitan and Overseas)
Caused byKilling of Nahel Merzouk
MethodsProtests, riots, civil disobedience, civil resistance
Casualties, arrests, and damages
Death(s)3 (A 50-year-old man, a 19-year-old man and a 21-year-old man)[1][2][3]
Injuries522 officers[4]
Arrested2,400+[5]
Property damage750+ businesses damaged[4]
4000+ vehicles

A series of ongoing civil disturbances in France 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, destroyed bus stops, and shot fireworks at police.[6] In Viry-Châtillon, just south of Paris, a group of youths reportedly set a bus ablaze.[7]

In Mantes-la-Jolie, a town 40 km northwest of Paris,[8] the town hall was set ablaze after being firebombed[9] on the night of 27 June, burning until 3:15 (CEST).[7] Clashes continued throughout the night across France, including Toulouse and Lille.[7] Unrest was also reported in Asnières, Colombes, Suresnes, Aubervilliers, Clichy-sous-Bois and Mantes-la-Jolie.[10]

By 29 June, over 150 people had been arrested,[11] 24 officers had been injured, and 40 cars had been torched[12][13] 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.[13][7][12] On 29 June, Darmanin announced that the government would deploy 40,000 officers nationwide.[14]

On 29 June, a vigil march was held in Nanterre in memory of Merzouk.[15]

Background

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 registration 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. The officers stopped the driver Nahel Merzouk who attempted to drive away; one officer fired at him at 8:16. The two passengers in the vehicle fled at 8:19.[16] Merzouk was pronounced dead at 9:15 a.m.[4]

The 2005 French riots were in reaction to the death of two Muslim teenagers, electrocuted while hiding from police in an electrical substation. Then-prime minister Dominique de Villepin and his Interior minister Nicolas Sarkozy suggested that the boys were thieves, which did little to calm the situation. 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 sister, Assa Traoré, became a driving force for France's Black Lives Matter movement and her campaign became part of the George Floyd protests in France.[18]

Police brutality in France

The yellow vests protests in 2018[19] and the alleged violent excesses of the BRAV-M [fr] (a motorcycle brigade used to curb looting and violent actions at the margin of the protests against the pension reform)[20] led to increased public perceptions of police brutality. In April 2023, over 260,000 people signed an unsuccessful petition on the National Assembly website calling for the brigade to be disbanded.[21] Public opinion had likewise been shocked in 2020 by the widely-circulated video footage of police violence perpetrated against Michel Zecler [fr], a black music producer, for not wearing a face-mask.[22]

Racial profiling

Alleged use of racial profiling in traffic stops and identity checks is a recurring issue. In 2016, the Court of Cassation found against the French state concerning racial profiling for identity checks, ruling that the practice was discriminatory. On this basis, in October 2020, a Parisian civil court awarded €58,500 to 11 plaintiffs who sued the French state for police violence, unjustified identity checks and improper arrests.[23]

2017 law concerning traffic stops

A law was passed in 2017 permitting police to shoot at a vehicle fleeing a traffic stop if it put the passengers or passersby in danger. This law resulted in thirteen deaths in 2022, six more than the year before.[24]

Protests and rioting

Metropolitan France

Riots were reported in the evening of 27 June after videos of Merzouk's killing in Nanterre began to circulate. The urban unrest was concentrated in Nanterre, where 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.[25] This rioting lasted until morning in Nanterre and spread to other areas in Île-de-France, but was also reported in Colmar and Roubaix. By the end of the day, there were at least 20 police officers injured, 10 police cars damaged, and 31 arrested.[26] 2,000 police officers and gendarmes were deployed to deal with the outbreak of violence.[27]

On 28 June, riots were reported in Amiens, Dijon, Lyon, Lille, Saint-Étienne, Clermont-Ferrand, and Strasbourg.[28] 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.[29] Fresnes Prison was also targeted by fireworks.[30] In Toulouse, arson and clashes between 100 demonstrators and police in the Reynerie district resulted in 13 arrests and 20 vehicles burned.[28] 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.[31] 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.[32] In total, more than 90 public buildings were attacked.[33] In Paris, clashes erupted in the 18th and 19th arrondissements, while fires were set in the 15th arrondissement.[30] Nationwide, at least 150 people were arrested,[28] 170 police officers were injured, and 609 vehicles plus 109 buildings were damaged.[31]

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.[31] Protesters in Marseille reportedly threw fireworks at police.[34] In Nanterre, rioters vandalised the Memorial to the Martyrs of the Deportation, which remembers victims of the Holocaust in Vichy France.[35] A car reportedly crashed into the a Lidl store in Nantes,[36] after which it was vandalized and looted.[37] There were also reports of the Clichy-sous-Bois town hall being lit on fire by protesters.[38] Nationwide, there were 875 arrests on the night of June 29.[39]

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.[40] Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin instructed prefectures nationwide to order that all buses and trams stop service at 9pm, and to prohibit the sale and transport of fireworks mortars, petrol cans, and other dangerous substances.[41] President Emmanuel Macron canceled a scheduled trip to Germany to handle the issue, after being criticized for attending a concert during the ongoing crisis.[42][43]

Overseas France

In French Guiana, protests erupted in reaction to the protests in France. One person was killed.[44]

International

Protests spread to Brussels, the capital of Belgium, where unrest led to dozens of arrests.[45][46]

Reactions

In the same speech where Macron denounced the police actions, he also called for protestors to be peaceful.[13] 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.[47] The Interior Ministry urged for calm after the first day of unrest.[48] Nanterre mayor Patrick Jarry, though expressing "shock" over the video,[49] 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."[7]

According to BBC analysis, the thirteen deaths related to refusal to submit to traffic stops the previous 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 reacted quickly 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.[50]

The United Nations Human Rights Office issued a statement on 30 June urging France to address problems of racism and discrimination in the police force,[41] and by 2 July, several European countries, including the United Kingdom, had warned tourists to stay away from areas affected by the protests.[51]

References

  1. ^ "Un homme décède en Guyane en marge des émeutes déclenchées par la mort de Nahel". Le HuffPost (in French). 30 June 2023. Archived from the original on 30 June 2023. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  2. ^ "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.
  3. ^ "Emeutes dans les banlieues: le jeune homme blessé durant une attaque est décédé". 1 July 2023.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ Anna, Cara; Charlton, Angela; Joly, Lewis (30 June 2023). "Macron scraps trip amid rioting across France, as loved ones bury teen slain by police". Associated Press. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  6. ^ "France braces for further protests after police kill teenager". www.aljazeera.com. Archived from the original on 29 June 2023. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  7. ^ a b c d e Breeden, Aurelien; Méheut, Constant (28 June 2023). "Anger Flares in France After Police Shoot and Kill Teenage Driver". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 30 June 2023. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  8. ^ Rabemanantsoa, Anna; Winsor, Morgan. "Teenager's death during police traffic stop sparks violent unrest in Paris suburb". ABC News. Archived from the original on 29 June 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  9. ^ Mortimer, Gavin (28 June 2023). "France erupts in violence after police shoot dead a teenager". The Spectator. Archived from the original on 29 June 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  10. ^ "Anger in Paris after police kill teen in traffic stop". BBC News. 27 June 2023. Archived from the original on 29 June 2023. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  11. ^ Chrisafis, Angelique; Paris, Angelique Chrisafisin (29 June 2023). "France police shooting: 150 arrests as protests widen over teenager's death". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 30 June 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  12. ^ a b Brudeau, Cain. "Riots, racial tensions erupt in France after fatal police shooting". Courthouse News Service. Archived from the original on 29 June 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  13. ^ a b c Bisset, Victoria; Suliman, Adela (28 June 2023). "Protests erupt in Paris after police shoot, kill teen during traffic stop". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  14. ^ "France to deploy 40,000 officers in wake of riot". Deutsche Welle. Archived from the original on 30 June 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  15. ^ Foroudi, Layli; Olive, Noemie (29 June 2023). "France unrest: Riots spread, thousands march in memory of shot teenager". Reuters. Archived from the original on 30 June 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  16. ^ Lemaignen, Julien; Lefief, Jean-Philippe (29 June 2023). "Death of Nahel M. in Nanterre: An hour by hour account of how events unfolded". Le Monde. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  17. ^ Leclerc, Aline (29 June 2023). "In 2005, three weeks of rioting shook France after the deaths of two teenagers". Le Monde. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  18. ^ McAuley, James (12 June 2020). "The woman behind France's Black Lives Matter movement wants a race-blind society to recognize its racism". The Washington Post. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  19. ^ Garland, Carys; Rousseau, Sylvain; Hakiki, Karim (24 January 2020). "French police brutality under scrutiny". France24. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  20. ^ Pascariello, Pascale; Polloni, Camille (13 April 2023). "Un rapport étrille les BRAV-M, des unités « répressives, violentes et dangereuses »" [A report curbs the BRAV-M, "repressive, violent and dangerous" units]. Mediapart (in French).
  21. ^ Lair, Noémie (5 April 2023). "La pétition pour la dissolution de la Brav-M écartée par la commission des lois de l'Assemblée" [The petition for the dissolution of the Brav-M rejected by the law commission of the Assembly]. Radio France (in French).
  22. ^ McAuley, James (30 November 2020). "Four French police officers charged in brutal beating of Black music producer". The Washington Post. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  23. ^ Le Monde avec AFP (28 October 2020). "L'Etat français condamné pour « faute lourde » après des violences policières et des contrôles d'identité discriminatoires" [The French State sentenced for "gross negligence" after police violence and discriminatory identity checks]. Le Monde (in French).
  24. ^ Barbarit, Simon (29 June 2023). "Refus d'obtempérer: la porte-parole de la police nationale annonce 138 tirs en 2022". Public Sénat (in French).
  25. ^ "Nanterre : nuit de colère et de tension après la mort d'un ado de 17 ans, tué par la police pour refus d'obtempérer". L'Obs (in French). 28 June 2023. Archived from the original on 29 June 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  26. ^ Piquet, Caroline; Constant, Julien (28 June 2023). "Mairie incendiée, voitures brûlées, 31 interpellations… Nuit de violences à Nanterre après la mort de Nahel" [Burned town hall, burnt cars, 31 arrests… Night of violence in Nanterre after the death of Nahel]. Le Parisien (in French). Archived from the original on 29 June 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  27. ^ Esnor, John (28 June 2023). "Paris Erupts In Violence After Police Shoot 17-year-old Driver". Euro Weekly News. Archived from the original on 29 June 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  28. ^ a b c "Mort de Nahel : commissariats attaqués, tramway incendié, école détruite… Une nouvelle nuit de violences" [Death of Nahel: police stations attacked, tram burned, school destroyed… A new night of violence]. Le Parisien (in French). 28 June 2023. Archived from the original on 28 June 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  29. ^ Chrisafis, Angelique; Henley, Jon (29 June 2023). "France police shooting: second night of unrest as protests over teenager's death spread". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 30 June 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  30. ^ a b "Mort de Nahel : retour sur une nouvelle nuit de violences en banlieue parisienne et dans plusieurs villes de France" [Death of Nahel: return to a new night of violence in the Paris suburbs and in several cities in France]. Le Parisien (in French). 28 June 2023. Archived from the original on 29 June 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  31. ^ a b c "DIRECT. Mort de Nahel : plusieurs communes d'Île-de-France instaurent un couvre-feu" [DIRECT. Death of Nahel: several municipalities in Île-de-France establish a curfew]. Le Parisien (in French). 28 June 2023. Archived from the original on 29 June 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  32. ^ "Hauts-de-Seine : commissariats et bâtiments publics pris pour cibles, 34 interpellations pendant la nuit" [Hauts-de-Seine: police stations and public buildings targeted, 34 arrests during the night]. Le Parisien (in French). 28 June 2023. Archived from the original on 30 June 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  33. ^ Pandolfo, Chris. "France will deploy 40,000 officers to crack down on riots after deadly police shooting". www.foxnews.com. Fox News. Archived from the original on 29 June 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  34. ^ Berlinger, Joshua; Xu, Xiaofei; Ataman, Joseph; Kennedy, Niamh (30 June 2023). "More than 400 arrested as third night of violent protest sweeps France after 17-year-old shot dead by police". CNN.
  35. ^ "Holocaust memorial in Paris vandalized by rioters". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  36. ^ Meillerais, Virginie; Certain, Rémi; Bourreau, Nathalie (30 June 2023). "Mort de Nahel. Émeutes à Nantes : Lidl forcé à la voiture bélier, centre commercial incendié…" [Death of Nahel, Riots in Nantes: Car Crash at Lidl, Shopping Center Set on Fire]. Presse Océan. Ouest France.
  37. ^ Vanzini, Pierre-Baptiste (30 June 2023). "Mort de Nahel : un Lidl entièrement saccagé près de Nantes, les riverains entre stupeur et inquiétude" [Death of Nahel: Lidl Store Completely Looted near Nantes, locals stunned and worried]. Le Parisien.
  38. ^ "More than 600 arrests after a new night of protests across France over teen's killing". Associated Press. 30 June 2023 – via NPR.
  39. ^ "Violences urbaines : le ministère mobilisé pour le retour à l'ordre public" [Urban violence: the ministry mobilized for the return to public order]. www.interieur.gouv.fr (in French). 30 June 2023. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  40. ^ "Victime de dégradation la nuit dernière, la bibliothèque L'Alcazar fermée jusqu'à mardi" [Victim of degradation last night, the L'Alcazar library closed until Tuesday] (in French). Archived from the original on 1 July 2023. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  41. ^ a b "Mort de Nahel : le gouvernement tente de circonscrire les violences". Les Echos (in French). 30 June 2023.
  42. ^ Aitken, Peter (1 July 2023). "French riots: What to know as hundreds of police injured, thousands arrested following deadly shooting". Fox News. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  43. ^ Willsher, Kim (1 July 2023). "France: teen shot by police given private funeral as crisis grips government". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  44. ^ Coto, Danica (30 June 2023). "Riots erupt in French Caribbean territories in reaction to unrest in France over teen's death". Associated Press. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  45. ^ "France riots: more than 400 arrested as police officer accused of shooting teen apologises". The Guardian. 30 June 2023. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 30 June 2023. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  46. ^ "France hit by third night of riots over police killing teen". Deutsche Welle. 29 June 2023. Archived from the original on 1 July 2023. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  47. ^ Crisp, James (30 June 2023). "Teenagers in French riots are copying video games, says Emmanuel Macron". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  48. ^ "'Unexplainable and inexcusable': Macron lays into police after teen shot dead and Paris riots". ABC News. 28 June 2023. Archived from the original on 30 June 2023. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  49. ^ "Unrest in Paris after 17-year-old boy shot dead by police". euronews. 28 June 2023. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  50. ^ "Paris shooting: Why French government backed family so fast". BBC News. 28 June 2023. Archived from the original on 29 June 2023. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  51. ^ "France riots: quieter night reported across the country despite hundreds of arrests". The Guardian. 2 July 2023. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
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