Nahel Merzouk’s grandmother calls for end to violence after fifth night of unrest
The grandmother of the teenager who was killed by police in a Paris suburb has called for an end to the rioting that has gripped France since his death.
Saturday saw a fifth night of disorder across the country following the death of 17-year-old Nahel Merzouk, who was fatally shot at point blank range during a traffic stop in Nanterre.
Police made 719 more arrests, bringing the total number of people detained to more than 3,000 following a mass security deployment aimed at quelling Franceâs worst social upheaval in years.
Identified as Nadia by French media, Nahelâs grandmother said the rioters were using his death as an excuse to cause havoc, while the family wanted calm.
She told French broadcaster BFM TV: âFortunately the police are here. The people who are destroying, I tell them to stop. They are using Nahel as an excuse.
âThey need to stop breaking the windows, the buses, the schools. We want things to calm down. We donât want them to destroy.
âI am tired, I canât take it anymore, I canât sleep, I turned off the TV, I turned everything off I donât want to listen to this anymore.â
âNahel is dead. My daughter is lost⊠she doesnât have a life anymore,â she added.
Her grandson was laid to rest on Saturday in a traditional Muslim ceremony in Nanterre, 15 kilometres west of the French capital.
Nahel, a teen with North African heritage, was driving his rental car when he was stopped by two police motorcyclists on Nanterreâs Avenue Joliot-Curie on Tuesday.
After he refused to comply with the police demands, the officer shot him at point-blank range in the chest. He drove forward a few metres before crashing into a pole. He died shortly afterwards.
His death has fed longstanding complaints of police violence and systemic racism inside law enforcement agencies from rights groups and within the low-income, racially mixed suburbs that ring major cities in France.
An officer has acknowledged firing a lethal shot, telling investigators he wanted to prevent a police chase, fearing he or another person would be hurt. The officer involved is under investigation for voluntary homicide.
Interior minister, Gérald Darmanin, said the latest overnight riots had been less intense, after 45,000 police and gendarmes, 24 helicopters and several armoured vehicles were deployed.
Over the past few days, rioters have torched cars and looted stores, but also targeted state institutions, including town halls and police stations.
Last night, a burning car was rammed into the home the mayor of LâHay-les-Roses â another Parisian suburb.
Vincent Jeanbrun, who was in the town hall at the time, said his wife and one of their two children, aged five and seven, were injured as they fled the building in the early hours.
The centre-right mayor, 39, said the attack represented a new stage of âhorror and ignominyâ in the unrest.
Regional prosecutor Stephane Hardouin has opened an investigation into attempted murder, telling French television that a preliminary investigation suggests the car was meant to ram the house and set it ablaze.
He said a flame accelerant was found in a bottle in the car.
Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne, went to LâHay-les-Roses along with the interior minister and other officials to meet Mr Jeanbrun, and promised that âweâre going to do everything to bring order back as soon as possibleâ.
President Emmanuel Macron planned to hold a special security meeting on Sunday evening with Ms Borne, Mr Darmanin and the justice minister.
Skirmishes erupted in the Mediterranean city of Marseille but appeared less intense than the night before, according to the interior ministry.
Nationwide arrests were lower than the previous night, which Mr Darmanin attributed that to âthe resolute action of security forcesâ.
The unrest prompted Mr Macron to delay what would have been the first state visit to Germany by a French president in 23 years, starting on Sunday evening.
Hundreds of police and firefighters have been injured in the violence, although authorities have not said how many protesters have been hurt.
In French Guiana, an overseas territory, a 54-year-old died after being hit by a stray bullet.
Mr Macron has blamed social media for fuelling the violence. Franceâs justice minister has warned that young people who share calls for violence on Snapchat or other apps could face prosecution.
