Angry protests, violence, fires and looting have shaken France for four days. Now the 17-year-old who was shot to death by the police is being buried in high-profile ways earlier this week.
Swedes in France are asked to avoid public gatherings.
The funeral is held in Nanterre in western Paris. The 17-year-old Nahel came from there and it was also where he was shot dead by the police on Tuesday.
The private funeral ceremony has already begun with family and friends attending the open casket. Later, the coffin is taken to a mosque whereupon the burial takes place at a city cemetery.
According to the BBC, people must have flocked outside to show respect for Nahel and his family.
No public demonstrations have been planned to coincide with the funeral – but spontaneous protests may arise, according to local media.
Gun shop looted
A weapons shop in the coastal city of Marseille was looted during the night’s unrest, writes BBC. About 30 youths allegedly broke into the store and stole at least four hunting rifles, local media reported.
No ammunition is said to have been stolen and one person could be arrested with a rifle, say the police – who are now guarding the store.
In addition to the gun store, a large number of other stores were also robbed of their goods.
More than 1,300 arrested
And during the night of Saturday, widespread protests and unrest still raged, with shops looted and vehicles set on fire, despite 45,000 police officers being deployed to quell the riots. More than 2,500 fires have ravaged the country, according to the Ministry of the Interior’s compilation.
At least 1,300 people have been arrested during the night to Saturday, according to the ministry.
The violence in France has also given Sweden’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs reason to urge Swedes visiting the country to avoid public gatherings and follow the recommendations of local authorities.
Affects the hospitality industry
The unrest has also begun to affect the country’s tourism sector, with hotels and restaurants suffering both cancellations and vandalism.
Since Tuesday, “our hotels have been hit by a wave of cancellations in all areas affected” by the riots, said Thierry Marx, president of the industry’s employers’ organization.
Marx says he receives daily calls from industry professionals whose businesses have suffered “attacks, looting and destruction” – and is now demanding that the authorities do everything to ensure the safety of those working in the hotel and restaurant industry.
Macron cancels state visit
French President Emmanuel Macron is canceling a state visit to Germany that was scheduled to take place on Sunday due to unrest in his home country, the German presidential office announced.
“French President Macron has today spoken with German President Steinmeier and informed him of the situation in the country,” reads the statement.
Frank-Walter Steinmeier has been the Federal President of Germany since 2017. The role is mainly ceremonial. Chancellor as well as head of government in the country is his party mate in the social democratic SPD, Olaf Scholz, since 2021.
Two motorcycle police officers stop a car in the Paris suburb of Nanterre on Tuesday, June 27, and the 17-year-old driver, named in French media as Nahel, is shot at close range in the chest and dies.
The police initially stated that the shots had been fired because the 17-year-old was driving the car towards the officers, but a video clip that is spreading on social media shows that the police’s first version is not correct.
“You’re going to get a bullet in the head,” one of the two motorcycle cops is heard shouting in the clip. They stand next to the car and the gun is aimed through the driver’s seat window. A shot fires off, whereupon the car accelerates rapidly and crashes into a pole some distance away. The driver dies shortly afterwards.
The 38-year-old police officer who is seen holding the gun in the clip is later arrested, suspected of the corresponding murder.
The fatal shooting revives the debate about police violence and discrimination against people in France’s low-income areas.
Source: TT