A policeman shot dead a 17-year-old boy in the Paris suburb of Nanterre.
40,000 police are now being deployed to deal with the violent protests sparked by the incident which has shocked France.
– An area has issued a curfew because people are so worried about how it will look tonight, says TV4 Nyheter’s Jennifer Paterson, on location in Paris.
It was on Tuesday that two motorcycle police officers stopped 17-year-old Nahel in a car in Nanterre. Shortly thereafter, one of the officers shot him in the chest at close range.
The police initially claimed that the shots had been fired because the teenager had driven the car towards the officers. But that version was quickly disproved when a video of the incident spread on social media.
A prosecutor decided on Thursday to open an investigation under the homicide-related heading “homicide volontaire” against the policeman who fired his weapon.
There were no “legal reasons for the use of weapons”, the prosecutor states based on the preliminary investigation. He has also requested that the policeman be kept in custody.
Crisis meeting
Violent protests once again rocked the suburbs of Paris on Thursday night. In several places, cars and barricades were on fire and in Nanterre, where the teenager was shot dead on Tuesday, fireworks were fired at riot police deployed to quell the riots.
On Thursday, a large memorial march was held in the French capital, in honor of the slain 17-year-old.
– It derailed and became very violent. Objects were set on fire and it became a very aggressive atmosphere. Windows were broken at a bank in the area, says TV4 Nyheterna’s Jennifer Paterson. See more in the clip below
40,000 police officers
The protests have also spread to other cities in France and during the night a total of 150 people were arrested. President Emmanuel Macron called several of his ministers to a crisis meeting on Thursday.
Around 40,000 police officers will be deployed in several parts of the country to deal with continued protests, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said on Thursday. In the capital Paris, it is about 5,000 police officers.
– The police are deployed to resist the riots that are happening in France right now. There are even politicians who think you should go out and call this a state of emergency, says Jennifer Paterson.