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At least 150 arrested following protests in France over fatal police shooting of teenager
At least 150 people have been arrested in France following protests after a 17-year-old driver was killed by police.
The suburb of Nanterre, where the 17-year-old driver was killed following a traffic stop, saw another night of violence on Wednesday as police fired tear gas and protesters shot fireworks at officers.
Interior minister Gerald Darmanin said: “A night of unbearable violence against symbols of the Republic: town halls, schools and police stations set on fire or attacked. 150 arrests.
“Support for the police, gendarmes and firefighters who face up with courage. Shame on those who did not call for calm.”
Clashes continued in Nanterre into the early hours of Thursday morning
Rioters set fire to cars and buildings, while people took to the streets in other areas of the capital as well.
Unrest was also reported in the northern cities of Lille and Amiens, along with Dijon in the east and Toulouse in the south.
A police officer fires tear gas in Nanterre
Protesters throw fireworks in the Paris suburb of Nanterre in France
Earlier, the government appealed for calm and said 2,000 police had been mobilised in the capital.
It comes amid accusations of police brutality and growing anger over the death on Tuesday of the youth, named in local reports as Nael M.
Those speaking out include French football star Kylian Mbappe, who described what happened on Twitter as an “unacceptable situation”.
Earlier, President of France Emmanuel Macron also called the shooting “unexplainable and inexcusable”.
A protest march in Lille earlier on Wednesday
Prosecutors claim the teenager failed to comply with an order to stop his car and that officers feared for their lives after he threatened to run them over, but that is disputed by lawyers for his family.
They cited a video circulating online that shows two police officers leaning into the driver-side window of his yellow car, before the vehicle pulls away and an officer opens fire.
The car is later seen crashed into a nearby post.
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Anger on the streets of Paris
Meanwhile, in a video shared on TikTok, a woman identified as Nael ‘s mother called for a memorial march in Nanterre on Thursday.
“Everyone come, we will lead a revolt for my son,” she said.
His killing was the third fatal shooting during a police traffic stop in France so far in 2023, down from a record of 13 last year, a national police spokesperson said.