Massive clashes with the police, attacks and vandalism of various structures, burning of more than a thousand vehicles and mass arrests – such a destructive and unstable situation has been going on for five days in various cities including Paris, the capital of France. Last Tuesday, police shot dead a 17-year-old teenager of Algerian origin, Nahel, at a police checkpoint in the Nanat area near Paris, sparking outrage in Paris. Later it spread to other cities.
The country’s police and administration are struggling to handle the situation. President Emmanuel Macron is under extreme pressure. He has postponed a state visit to Germany. The young men and women who have been discriminated against by the police at different times have mainly started the protest. Analysts say that Nahel’s brutal murder is an expression of racist behavior in France. News from CNN and Al Jazeera.
45,000 police, special units, armored vehicles and helicopters were deployed across the country last Friday to quell the protests. That didn’t work either. Makhon held an emergency meeting with senior officials on Saturday to decide what to do. Discussions are also going on whether to issue a state of emergency to control the situation. However, a spokesperson of the presidential palace believes that the situation has not been created to declare a state of emergency. He also claimed that there was no racial or racial motive in this murder.
The government has said that more than 1,300 protesters have been arrested on charges of violence. However, the actual number is believed to be more than two thousand.
In France, the Ministry of Interior said on Saturday that protesters set fire to 2,560 places on different roads. 1 thousand 350 cars were burnt. 79 policemen and gendarmes were injured till Friday night. However, CNN says that 522 police officers and gendarmes were injured. The country’s interior minister also said that there had been violence and looting.
The mother of the slain teenager blames someone for killing her son. Meanwhile, Nahel’s funeral was completed yesterday. In the video recorded before the murder, Kishore Nahel was driving a yellow colored private car. At this time, two policemen stopped him. One of the cops pointed a gun at the teenage driver. When he suddenly wanted to drive the car, he fired. Later the car overturned some distance away.
The police claimed that one of their members was shot after he ran over a car. But the video shows that the two policemen were not in front of the car, but on one side. There was no risk. The police officer has been arrested. Investigation is going on. The government urged everyone to remain calm with assurances of justice, but the protests spread.
Not since 2005 have there been such large protests in France. After the killing of two teenagers who were running away from the police at that time, riots continued for about three weeks. A state of emergency was declared at that time.
Makhon is under extreme pressure in the current protest. At the beginning of this year, he faced extreme protests across the country over the reform of the pension law. Makhon is moving forward with a 100-day plan to stay for another term as president. His plans are falling apart in this protest. In the meantime, he attended a concert last Wednesday and came under fire.