2023-06-29 18:58:57
The last minute change of location will not have changed much. Initially planned in front of the Hauts-de-Seine prefecture, in Nanterre, the white march in tribute to Nahel, killed by a police officer on Tuesday, finally set off from avenue Pablo-Picasso, in the neighborhood where he lived. the young man of 17 years. The word has obviously passed and thirty minutes before the rally, a real procession already crosses the André-Malraux park, in silence, like a funeral procession, to get to the meeting place.
This solemn atmosphere sticks to the motto of the organizers on site: “Don’t forget, we are here to pay tribute to Nahel and to support his mother. It is not a demonstration. We remain dignified, ”says one of the protagonists of the march. The clashes that took place in the neighborhood the two previous nights are on everyone’s mind.
“We are not savages, they are just waiting for that”
However, barely the applause of approvals launched, a man attacks the mediators of the city, present to help the smooth running of the movement. “We never see you, and it is now that you land. “ He is quickly rebuffed by his targets and by organizers who explain to him that this is not the time for this kind of claim.
The foundations are laid and the vast majority of participants seem to adhere to them. Friends, relatives or friends of family friends are asked to wear the white t-shirt “Justice for Nahel – 06/27/2023”. The instruction passes, it is necessary to calm the ardor of those who would like to ignite the event. They are very few, but some launch more vindictive slogans. They are called to order in the second. “Now is not the time to do anything. We have to show that we are not savages, they are just waiting for that, ”explains a member of the security service.
Cold anger
Upon the arrival of Mounia, Nahel’s mother, the looks are tender, some applause arises. She is very quickly brought on the truck which will serve as the bow of the procession to avoid being in contact with the journalists. The latter, who came in large numbers, were viewed with suspicion. “You just want to make her cry,” Ayda explains, looking at the cameras and mics crowding in.
Even more, the young woman testifies to the resentment of the participants towards the press: “You play the game of the police. The little one, he did some stupid things, like many others. He has no criminal record, but you nevertheless specify that he is known to the police, as if he were a criminal. Walking beside him, Sabri adds: “Here, everyone is known to the police. They challenge with all their might, even when nothing is happening. But by saying that, you pass it off as [Pablo] Escobar. »
Participants in the march for Nahel demand justice after the death of the young man for “refusal to comply”, in Nanterre on June 29, 2023. – R.Le Dourneuf / 20 Minutes
Sabri, like the procession, remains dignified, respectful of the moment, but he struggles to hide his cold anger. An anger that only asks to heat up and spring according to Baky. Real Madrid jersey on the back, he raises his fist and shouts with the crowd the slogan: “No justice, no peace. This resident of La Garenne-Colombes did not know Nahel, but he knows the problem well: “What happened to him can happen to anyone. Again, there is a video. But it’s something that happens all the time. It doesn’t necessarily end in death. But the police lie all the time. They put you in custody, they fine you. Even for no reason and it’s your voice against theirs. I’m going to have a child, I don’t want him to end up an orphan like that. Or that it happens to him. »
Avoid confrontation with law enforcement
As Baky utters these words, a dozen young people start running up the march with garbage bags in their hands. Several scooters follow them. The concern of the participants was quickly appeased when they saw these same young people unfurl a banner on the embankment of the Place des droits de l’Homme, a few tens of meters from the prefecture.
Arriving on the square, the spirit of some walkers warms up. One of the lanes is blocked by police cars in front of which the procession will have to pass. Some young people run towards them, provoked by their presence. Two bottles of water fly in the direction of the police. But without waiting, adults rush to form a human chain in front of the police and avoid confrontation. “The little ones are already setting fires at night, we don’t need that”, justifies one of the men who is blocking.
As they push the participants back to the right path of the march, a man equipped with a balaclava and a cap manages to pass the roadblock and tries to start hostilities, provoking the fury of some members of the military service. order that unmasks and vilifies him: “Do you just want to fuck up? You want to discredit us! You’re not from here, what are you doing here? The scene marks a lot of people. For good reason, the man is unknown in the neighborhood. Some participants speak of a neo-Nazi who came on fire at the moment. Evacuated manu militari by the security service, we will not know who he was.
Local police regretted
“It must be one of the Zemmour”, deplores Sarah who has in mind the declaration of the former presidential candidate who spoke of “foreign enclaves” to qualify neighborhoods like that of Pablo-Picasso in Nanterre. “These kids are already sidelined. Because they are of foreign origin, because they live here, because they experience racism and unemployment. They need to be included, not treated like that. »
In her fifties, this resident has known the local police: “That’s what we need. People who know the neighborhood, people… Who buffer with the rest of the Republic to make the link. But for that, we need a resignation of Darmanin and a major reform of the police. According to Sarah, the police now on duty in the neighborhood are “hostile” and come “as they would go hunting”.
The march ends in confrontation with the police
Enough to create a tension that a drama like the one that happened to Nahel transforms into a fracture. Arrived in front of the prefecture, the procession begins songs and demands. But when an isolated man launches a “We will take care of them” to the address of the police, he is immediately taken up by the people around him: “Shut up. We really don’t need to add more.”
Only a few seconds later, tear gas canisters were thrown from the other side of the prefecture gates by the police, launching a great evening of clashes and violence…
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