Young killed in Nanterre: Emmanuel Macron considers the act “inexplicable and inexcusable”

The French president reacted to the death of the teenager killed on Tuesday in Nanterre (Hauts-de-Seine).

More than 24 hours after the death of the 17-year-old teenager, fatally shot by a policeman in Nanterre after a refusal to comply, Emmanuel Macron spoke about this tragedy. “Inexplicable” and “inexcusable,” he said.

Traveling to Marseille, Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday deemed “inexplicable” and “inexcusable” the death of a teenager, victim of point-blank police shooting the day before in Nanterre, also supporting the police who ” undertake to protect us”.

“Nothing, nothing justifies the death of a young person”, affirmed the Head of State on the third day of his visit to Marseille, evoking “the emotion of the whole nation” and assuring “respect and affection” to Nahel’s family, 17 years old.

“We have a teenager who was killed, it’s inexplicable, inexcusable and first of all these are words of affection, shared pain and support for his family and loved ones,” Emmanuel Macron told the press. .

He also recalled that the police were made up of “women and men who also come from all parts of the Republic and are committed to protecting us and serving the Republic”. “I thank them every day for that”, he added, recalling that their functions were exercised “within an ethical framework which is defined, which must be respected”.

The Head of State also expressed the “need to have answers” and the “need for justice to do its job”.

Beyond that, he wanted to continue to “move forward” to “adjust everyday matters”, citing “school”, “sport”, “security” and “urban rehabilitation”. “As summer arrives (…), we have a lot of families, a lot of young people who live in very difficult situations, these are families who do not go on vacation”, recalled the head of state.

“Justice was immediately seized: I hope that it does its job with obviously speed and in the calm that this work requires, and that the truth can be done as soon as possible”, added the president, while the drama led to urban violence in the Hauts-de-Seine on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday.

“Obviously tempers can get hot,” he acknowledged, but “I don’t want there to be any manipulation.”

“We understand the desire to have answers and we want them to be given in complete transparency, as the elements are known”, insisted Olivier Véran, launching “an obviously call for calm in this very particular situation with very strong emotion.

After the death of Naël, 17, killed at point-blank range by a policeman, clashes took place overnight in Nanterre and in several towns in Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de- Marl.

In total, 31 people were arrested in France, 24 police officers slightly injured and around forty cars burned, according to the Ministry of the Interior.

The clashes spread to several other municipalities in the Paris suburbs on Tuesday. In the neighboring department of Yvelines, a neighborhood town hall was set on fire.

Some disturbances and acts of vandalism were also noted in the provinces, in Mulhouse, Dijon or Bordeaux.

This drama, which even moved star footballer Kylian Mbappé, has once again revived the controversy over the action of the police, in particular towards young people of African or North African immigration, the left denouncing an “Americanization” of the police.

In this climate, the government has launched a “call for calm” to avoid a conflagration in the disadvantaged suburbs where the death of teenagers has often been the detonator of urban riots.

“We need calm everywhere because we do not need to have a conflagration,” declared the Head of State, while Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne underlined the “absolute requirement of truth to allow appeasement to prevail over anger”.

Some 2,000 police and gendarmes must be mobilized Wednesday evening in Paris and its inner suburbs to avoid unrest.

The victim’s mother, for her part, called for a white march on Thursday afternoon in Nanterre, expressing “her revolt for (her son)”.

The death also electrified the political class, with the left resuming its criticism of the police while the far right struggled to hide its embarrassment.

“Part of the police authorities lied to try to cover up this act,” said the coordinator of LFI (radical left), Manuel Bompard.

The representatives of the National Rally (extreme right) spoke of “a drama” and asked to respect “the time of the investigation” as well as “the presumption of innocence”.

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