PARIS – Law enforcement authorities in France arrested 176 people yesterday amid protests over the police shooting death earlier this week of a 17-year-old delivery driver in a Paris suburb.
It came as local authorities in France imposed a nighttime curfew in four regions namely in Clamart Neuilly-sur-Marne, Savigny-le-Temple and Compiegne until Monday, Anadolu Agency reported.
Valerie Pecresse, president of the Ile-de-France region, also announced that bus and tram services in and around Paris will be suspended after 9pm on Thursday to protect employees and passengers.
Laurent-Franck Lienard, the lawyer of the officer accused of shooting the delivery driver, identified as Nahel M., said they will object to his arrest warrant, adding his client acted in “compliance with the law.”
Nahel was shot dead in the Paris suburb of Nanterre by a police officer after he failed to stop during a traffic check.
His death sparked protests in Nanterre, leading to overnight clashes between demonstrators and police.
French prosecutors said yesterday that the officer who killed the teenager has been charged with voluntary homicide and placed in pre-trial detention.
Earlier, tensions rose during a solemn march led by Nahel’s mother in Nanterre. Paris police reported that more than 6,000 people joined the protest gathering, according to the report.
An Anadolu reporter who was on the ground said police used tear gas to disperse the protesters. However, no injuries have been reported among the participants.
According to Radio France, Paris police arrested seven protesters.
“I don’t feel protected. When I go outside and see the police, I think maybe they are going to shoot me. It’s unbearable,” Sophia, a 17-year-old girl who joined the march, told France Info radio.
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin told reporters yesterday that 40,000 police officers, including 5,000 in Paris, would be deployed across France this evening for possible demonstrations.
Earlier in the day, Darmanin said on Twitter that the number of arrests rose to 150 following Nahel’s killing.
Separately, protests also broke out in Belgium’s capital yesterday to support the protests in France.
According to local media, a group of young people issued a call on social media in support of the demonstrations in France, leading to demonstrators gathering in the centrally located district of Anneessens in Brussels to throw cobblestones, smash windows at bus stops, as well as set some vehicles on fire.
Firefighters were dispatched to the areas, Anadolu Agency reported.
A clash broke out between the police and the demonstrators on Maurice Lemonnier Boulevard in the city centre.
Anneessens metro station was closed and vehicle entry to the area was prohibited.
The police reportedly detained around 10 demonstrators. – Bernama, June 30, 2023
