Scenes From the Unrest in France Over the Police Killing of a Teen Boy

Paris neighborhoods will be put under curfew Thursday evening as authorities anticipate a third night of unrest that has rocked cities across France since a 17-year-old boy of North African descent was shot dead in Nanterre by police Tuesday. The killing has also raised questions about police brutality in France and its treatment of its Arab and African minorities.

Clashes broke out on Tuesday when an officer fatally shot Nahel M—a French citizen of Algerian and Moroccan descent—in the chest during a traffic stop. Rioters have torched and smashed cars and buildings, including a school, and disrupted buses and trams. Protesters also threw fireworks and firecrackers at police officers, who met them with teargas.
[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]

As many as 170 officers were injured during Wednesday’s clashes, while 180 protesters have been arrested since the unrest broke out. France’s President, Emmanuel Macron, has also criticized the killing as “inexplicable” and “inexcusable.”

The police officer responsible has been arrested and charged with voluntary homicide.

Gerald Darmanin, France’s Minister of the Interior, said 40,000 police officers will be mobilized across the nation as the curfew is imposed. The president of the Île-de-France region, Valérie Pécresse, called for transportation to stop running at 9 p.m. local time Thursday to prevent damage by “thugs and hooligans,” according to the BBC.

The news comes hours after Nahel’s mother, Mounia, led a tribute march with over 6,000 attendees chanting for justice in Nanterre, a working-class suburb located a 15-minute train ride outside of Paris. “‘What am I going to do now?’ I devoted everything to him,” she said in a social media video. “I’ve only got one, I haven’t got 10. He was my life, my best friend.”

Macron has called for peace and has also criticized the damage caused by the protests as “absolutely unjustifiable.” Chairing a crisis meeting Thursday, Macron said: “Clearly the emotion that comes with the death of a young man calls for contemplation and calm, and it’s what the government has constantly called for. I think this is what should continue to guide the next hours and the tributes.”

Below, a selection of images that capture the unrest in France.

Alain Jocard—AFP/Getty ImagesAn attendee waves a light flare as he stands atop a street sign during a commemoration march for Nahel, a teenage driver shot dead by a policeman, in the Parisian suburb of Nanterre, on June 29, 2023.

Christophe Ena—APYouth clash with police forces in Nanterre, outside Paris, on June 29, 2023.

Zakaria Abdelkafi—AFP/Getty ImagesA vehicle burns during a protest in Nanterre, west of Paris, on June 27, 2023, after French police killed a teenager who refused to stop for a traffic check in the city.

Sarah Meyssonnier—ReutersFrench riot police run amid clashes with protesters during a march in tribute to Nahel, a 17-year-old teenager killed by a French police officer during a traffic stop, in Nanterre on June 29, 2023.

Sarah Meyssonnier—ReutersPeople attend a march in tribute to Nahel, in Nanterre, on June 29, 2023.

Geoffroy Van der Hasselt—AFP/Getty ImagesA resident looks on during protests in Nanterre in the early hours of June 29, 2023.

Christophe Ena—APPolice forces clash with youth in Nanterre, on June 29, 2023.

Sarah Meyssonnier—ReutersMounia, the mother of Nahel, a 17-year-old teenager killed by a French police officer in Nanterre during a traffic stop, attends a march in tribute to her son in Nanterre, on June 29, 2023.

Emmanuel Dunand—AFP/Getty ImagesWorkers clean up the debris of a burnt tram destroyed during protests the previous night in Clamart, southwest of Paris, on June 29, 2023.

Zakaria Abdelkafi—AFP/Getty ImagesFirefighters work to put out a fire on the sidelines of a demonstration in Nanterre, on June 27, 2023.

Geoffroy Van der Hasselt—AFP/Getty ImagesA firefighter extinguishes the flames of a car set on fire during protests in Nanterre in the early hours of June 29, 2023.

Geoffroy Van der Hasselt—AFP/Getty ImagesA car burns as slogans are seen on a wall which reads in French “Police kills, Justice for Nahel” during protests in Nanterre, on June 28, 2023.

Pascal Rossignol—ReutersFrench police secure the area at the city hall of Mons-en-Barœul, near Lille, damaged during night clashes between protesters and police, on June 29. 2023.