2023-07-02 18:44:00
The grandmother of the teenager shot dead by police during a traffic stop in a Paris suburb said on Sunday that she wanted the nationwide protests sparked by her grandson’s murder to end, after the fifth consecutive night of riots.
She said protesters were using the death of 17-year-old Nahel last Tuesday as an excuse to cause trouble, and that the family would like calm.
“I’m telling them [os manifestantes] to stop,” the grandmother, identified as Nadia by French media, told broadcaster BFM TV.
“Nahel is dead. My daughter is lost…she has no more life.”
Asked about a crowdfunding campaign that received promises of more than 670,000 euros in favor of the police officer accused of voluntary manslaughter during the exchange of fire, Nadia said: “My heart hurts”.
The latest protests after Nahel’s funeral on Saturday in the Parisian suburb of Nanterre were less intense than the previous night, the government said. Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said 45,000 police would be deployed again on Sunday night.
Since Nahel was shot, protesters have torched cars and looted stores, but they have also targeted state institutions — town halls and police stations. The home of the mayor of L’Hay-les-Roses, near Paris, was attacked while his wife and children slept inside.
President Emmanuel Macron has postponed a visit to Germany due to start on Sunday to deal with the worst crisis in his tenure since “yellow vest” protests brought much of France to a standstill in late 2018.
Copyright © Thomson Reuters.
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