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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
World
Andy Lines

France braced for fifth night of riots as teen whose killing sparked unrest is buried

The funeral of the teenager shot dead by police has taken place as a further 1,300 were arrested and riots continued across France.

Thousands of mourners gathered to lay Nahel Merzouk, 17, to rest in Nanterre.

One mourner, Marie, 60, said she had lived in the Paris suburb for 50 years and there had always been problems with the police.

“This absolutely needs to stop. The government is completely disconnected from our reality,” she said.

His death during a traffic stop in Nanterre on Tuesday sparked four days of rioting.

French President Emmanuel Macron – ridiculed for attending an Elton John concert while Paris burned – cancelled a three-day visit to Germany due to start today.

Fire crews in Charenton (Urman Lionel/ABACA/REX/Shutterstock)

Nahel, a takeaway delivery driver of Algerian descent, was shot in the chest point-blank at the wheel of a Mercedes.

Video showed two officers at the window, one with his gun pointed at the driver. As the teenager pulled forward, he fired through the windshield.

Yesterday one of two passengers released a video on social media giving his version of events.

The young man said two motorcycle officers stopped them and hit Nahel with the butts of their guns. One put his gun to the lad’s head and said: “Don’t move or I’ll put a bullet in your head.”

The officer then hit him again, causing Nahel to take his foot off the brake – and the other officer opened fire when the car moved forward, he said.

Prosecutors say cops tried to pull the teenager over because he looked too young to drive and was in a Mercedes with Polish licence plates in a bus lane.

Friday night’s violence left 79 police officers injured, with two shot in Lyon, and widespread looting in Marseille.

Officials said 1,311 people were detained that night, with 2,400 arrests overall.

Riot cop in Nanterre yesterday (AFP via Getty Images)

When the unrest started, rioters mostly attacked public buildings but have since moved on to looting shops.

The death of Nahel was the third fatal shooting by police during traffic stops in France in 2023.

There were a record 13 last year. Most victims since 2017 have been of Black or Arab origin.

The officer who killed Nahel is being held in jail. He has asked Nahel’s family for forgiveness.

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