List of All Articles with Tag 'europe'

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The number of mourners was so large, crowds spilled out of the Parisian mosque and stopped traffic as they prayed in the middle of the street. The killing of 17-year-old Nahel Marzouk by the police has been labelled an “execution” and has ignited the fury of the nation, sparking a level of unrest not seen in France for over a decade. At least 2,400 people have been arrested across the country, curfews imposed and public transport curtailed as open street battles raged between protesters and police, and looting became rampant. In response, President Emmanuel Macron deployed 45,000 officers, including elite anti-terrorism units and armoured vehicles which scour the streets. But on Saturday, at Nahel’s funeral at a mosque in Nanterre, the west Paris suburb where he lived and was fatally shot, the most glaring absence was the security forces. Volunteers from the local community instead curtly policed the streets, which are scrawled with the phrase “the country of police impunity”. They reined in the emotions, which ran high when the body was brought out to a hearse escorted by hundreds of people on foot and on scooters. “It is finished,” Nahel mother Mounia said bravely, in a cloud of female well-wishers after the coffin was lowered into the earth. “He has gone to paradise.” Nahel – a teenager of Moroccan and Algerian origin – was shot by a police officer during a traffic stop on Tuesday: an incident which was caught on mobile phone footage, and showed Nahel driving away from the officers before one fired at him. Outraged at the murder, and the apparent efforts by the police to paint Nahel as a troubled teenager wanted by the law, thousands have protested across the country. Nahel’s death was “the last drop to cause the vase to overflow”, family friends repeatedly told The Independent. France exploded. For four nights the streets of cities including Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Toulouse, Strasbourg and Lille have been ablaze with looters ransacking dozens of shops and torching 2000 vehicles according to the interior ministry. There have been calls for calm and for President Macron to impose a state of emergency, with more unrest on the horizon. The United Nations has also weighed in urging the country to “seriously address the deep issues of racism and discrimination in law enforcement”. It has taken a toll on Mr Macron’s diplomatic profile. On Saturday Mr Macron was forced to postpone what would have been the first state visit by a French president to Germany in 23 years, citing internal security issues. In the funeral march to the hill-top cemetery friends of the family said they were in “deep shock” and talked of struggling with racism endemic in the French police force. “I’m shaken, we all are, especially as a mother with children living in this neighbourhood,” said Theresa, 60, who lived next door to Nahel’s grandmother and personally knew the teenager, she described as “smiley, hardworking and kind”. “Thank god there is a video, the police are lying all the time. This might change things,” she added. Mohamed, 60, who is also part of the Algerian community in Nanterre and a friend of Nahel’s mother Mounia, said they were all treated like “second-class citizens”. “Nahel was his mother’s entire world, and now he is gone. She has lost everything. We simply do not get the same rights.” Nahel was his mother’s entire world, and now he is gone. We do not get the same rights Mohamed, friend of the family His comments were echoed by half-a-dozen other mourners The Independent spoke to throughout the day. “If you are not white, you’re not equal. There is a two-tiered nationality system,” said Abdelmalek Hamchoui, 62, a local community leader. “I’m made to feel like I’m only French on paper,” added Hadhrami Belhachemi, 35. And so the incident has thrown a searing spotlight onto France’s judicial and legal system. Abdelmadjid Benamara, one of the family’s lawyers who is also from Nanterre, called Nahel’s killing an “execution” and told The Independent it was just the latest in a long line of alarming incidents committed by the French police. He called for a slew of investigations into police response to the incident and for major reforms to the legal system. You have to call a spade a spade: this is an execution Abdelmadjid Benamara, Nahel’s family lawyer “You can’t be hypocritical about it. When a policeman kills a young teenager you have to call a spade a spade: this is an execution. You have to open the correct investigation,” he added. While the police officer who fired the shot was taken in custody on charges of voluntary homicide when a video of the incident emerged, the second police officer on the scene has not been charged and is still working, Mr Benamara continued. “The problem is with the legal system as a whole after a 2017 bill relaxed the rules around police officers' rights to use their firearms.” “In 2022 there were 13 instances where the French police fired on citizens, in similar circumstances to Nahel M’s killing. Of those only five are being investigated” he added. The only difference this time is that there is a video of the event. “There is a social contract between the people and the government that has been broken. There is no trust any more,” he added. The unrest has also revived memories of riots in 2005 that rocked France for three weeks and forced then-president Jacques Chirac to declare a state of emergency. That wave of violence erupted in the Paris suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois and spread across the country following the death of two young men who ended up being electrocuted in a power substation as they hid from police. Many people The Independent spoke to said nothing had changed since then. “I’ve been living in this neighbourhood for 27 years, and it has only got more racist every year,” Laslah Baghdad, 58, another mourner from Nanterre said back at Nahel’s funeral. “How you fight that I don’t know .” The explosion of rage across the country, triggered by the video evidence of Nahel’s killing that points to homocide, might be the catalyst for a different future, Theresa continued. “We have an expression: 100 years for the thief, a year for the master. This really embodies the situation here,” she said. “But now we feel change will happen.” Read More France riots - latest: Mourners line street for funeral of teenager shot dead by police Watch: View of Nanterre as funeral held for teenager shot dead by French police Rioters attack Strasbourg Apple store over Paris police shooting Rioting rages across France for fourth night ahead of funeral for teenager shot dead by police Who is Nahel M? The teen shot dead by police in France

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France faced its fifth night of rioting on Saturday night, with police reinforcements sent into cities in a bid to control the unrest that has torn through the country since a 17-year-old was shot dead by police in Paris. Emmanuel Macron announced that he was cancelling his planned state visit to Germany after more than 1,300 arrests were made on Friday night in cities including the capital, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse - almost a third of them under the age of 18. More than 200 police officers were injured, according to interior minister Gerald Darmanin. In Nanterre, thousands came out for the funeral of Nahel Merzouk who died in the Paris suburb on Tuesday night. Outside the Ibn Badis Mosque, Therese, 60, a friend of the family who lives next door to Nahel’s grandmother paid tribute to the “kind and smiley” teenager and said the community was in complete shock. She added: “He helped me with my groceries. When he was younger I would give him pocket money. I’m shaken, we all are - especially as a mother with children living in this neighbourhood - we’re scared and extremely sad.” Nahel’s mother told a crowd of women at her son’s funeral: “It’s finished. Now he is in heaven.” In response to the teenager’s death, looters have ransacked dozens of shops and torched 2,000 vehicles since the start of the riots, which have spread to cities such as Marseille, Lyon, Toulouse, Strasbourg and Lille. 45,000 police have been deployed in attempts to quell the unrest and reinforcements were sent out on Saturday night. Specialist tactical police have been sent to the southern city of Marseille, where rioters looted a gun store and stole hunting rifles, but no ammunition, according to the police. Reinforcements have also been sent to Lyon after officials requested further help. Public transport was stopped after 19:00 in Marseille and 20:00 in Lyon in an attempt to limit the violence. Macron was forced to reschedule what would have been the first state visit by a French president to Germany in 23 years. The French leader’s office said he had spoken with German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier and told him “given the internal security situation, the president said he wishes to stay in France over the coming days”. Macron has held off on declaring a state of emergency, an option last used in 2005. British holidaymakers have been warned by the Foreign Office about travelling to France and star French footballer Kylian Mbappé has appealed for calm. In a statement issued on social media, together with teammates of the French national football team, the striker said: “As many of us come from working-class neighbourhoods, we also share these feelings of pain and sadness. But this suffering is compounded by the helplessness of witnessing a process of self-destruction. Violence solves nothing.” The mayor of Nanterre, Patrick Jarry, has said that the death means authorities must “reflect on the police’s terms of engagement”. The 17-year-old of Algerian and Moroccan descent was shot by police during a traffic stop on Tuesday. The 38-year-old officer involved in the shooting has been charged with voluntary homicide and placed in provisional detention. He has said that he fired the fatal shot because he feared that someone could be hit by the car. The unrest has revived memories of nationwide riots in 2005 that forced then President Jacques Chirac to declare a state of emergency after the death of two young men electrocuted in a power substation as they hid from police. Macron has denied there is systemic racism in French law enforcement agencies but people of the North African French community have expressed their anger. "If you have the wrong skin colour, the police are much more dangerous to you," said a friend of Nahel who attended his funeral but declined to be named. Nahel Merzouk was laid to rest on Saturday with Abdelmadjid Benamara, the family lawyer, saying: "Saturday, July 1 is a day of meditation for Nahel's family." Additional reporting by agencies. Read More France riots - latest: Mourners line street for funeral of teenager shot dead by police Rioters attack Strasbourg Apple store over Paris police shooting Rioting rages across France for fourth night ahead of funeral for teenager shot dead by police Rioting rages across France for fourth night ahead of funeral for teenager shot dead by police Is it safe to travel to Paris right now? Paris shooting: Where are the riots in France and why are they happening?

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Rioting raged across France for a fourth night as family and friends prepare to bury the 17-year-old whose killing by police sparked the unrest. Despite a massive deployment of 45,000 police officers to the country’s streets, cars and buildings were set ablaze and stores were looted, while the interior ministry announced 994 arrests around the country by early Saturday. Nahel Merzouk, 17, will be laid to rest following an Islamic ceremony close to his home in the north-western Paris suburb of Nanterre, where he was shot in the chest as he sat at the wheel of a stationary Mercedes last Tuesday. The officer responsible - identified as Florian M., 38 - remains on remand having been charged with murder. The government suggested the violence triggered by the teenager’s killing was beginning to lessen, following tougher security measures, including 5,000 more officers than the previous night. But damages remained widespread, from Paris to Marseille to Lyon to French territories overseas, where a 54-year-old died after being hit by a stray bullet in French Guiana. France’s national soccer team — including international star Kylian Mbappe, an idol to many young people in the disadvantaged neighborhoods, where the anger is rooted — pleaded for an end to the violence. “Many of us are from working-class neighborhoods, we too share this feeling of pain and sadness” over the killing of 17-year-old Nahel, the players said in a statement. “Violence resolves nothing. … There are other peaceful and constructive ways to express yourself.” They said it's time for “mourning, dialogue and reconstruction” instead. The fatal shooting of the teenager stirred up long-simmering tensions between police and young people in housing projects who struggle with poverty, unemployment and racial discrimination. Anger erupted in Nanterre after his death there on Tuesday and quickly spread nationwide. The subsequent rioting is the worst France has seen in years and puts new pressure on President Emmanuel Macron, who appealed to parents to keep children off the streets and blamed social media for fueling violence. Early on Saturday, firefighters in Nanterre extinguished blazes set by protesters that left scorched remains of cars strewn across the streets. In the neighboring suburb Colombes, protesters overturned garbage bins and used them for makeshift barricades. Looters during the evening broke into a gun shop and made off with weapons in the Mediterranean port city of Marseille, police said. Officers in Marseille arrested nearly 90 people as groups of protesters lit cars on fire and broke store windows to take what was inside. Buildings and businesses were also vandalized in the eastern city of Lyon, where a third of the roughly 30 arrests made were for theft, police said. Authorities reported fires in the streets after an unauthorized protest drew more than 1,000 people earlier Friday evening. The Interior Ministry said 994 arrests were made during the night, with more than 2,500 fires. The night before, 917 people were arrested nationwide, 500 buildings targeted, 2,000 vehicles burned and dozens of stores ransacked. While the number of overnight arrests was the highest yet, there were fewer fires, cars burned and police stations attacked around France than the previous night, according to the Interior Ministry. Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin claimed the violence was of “much less intensity.” Hundreds of police and firefighters have been injured, including 79 overnight, but authorities have not released injury tallies for protesters. Nanterre Mayor Patrick Jarry said France needs to “push for changes” in disadvantaged neighborhoods. Despite repeated government appeals for calm and stiffer policing, Friday saw brazen daylight violence, too. An Apple store was looted in the eastern city of Strasbourg, where police fired tear gas, and the windows of a fast-food outlet were smashed in a Paris-area shopping mall, where officers repelled people trying to break into a shuttered store, authorities said. In the face of the escalating crisis that hundreds of arrests and massive police deployments have failed to quell, Macron held off on declaring a state of emergency, an option that was used in similar circumstances in 2005. Instead, his government ratcheted up its law enforcement response, with 45,000 police deployed overnight. Some were called back from vacation. Darmanin ordered a nationwide nighttime shutdown Friday of all public buses and trams, which have been among rioters’ targets. He also said he warned social networks not to allow themselves to be used as channels for calls to violence. “They were very cooperative,” Darmanin said, adding that French authorities were providing the platforms with information in hopes of cooperation identifying people inciting violence. “We will pursue every person who uses these social networks to commit violent acts,” he said. Macron, too, zeroed in on social media platforms that have relayed dramatic images of vandalism and cars and buildings being torched. Singling out Snapchat and TikTok, he said they were being used to organize unrest and served as conduits for copycat violence. The violence comes just over a year before Paris and other French cities are due to host 10,500 Olympians and millions of visitors for the summer Olympic Games. Organizers said they are closely monitoring the situation as preparations for the Olympics continue. The police officer accused of killing Nahel was handed a preliminary charge of voluntary homicide. Preliminary charges mean investigating magistrates strongly suspect wrongdoing but need to investigate more before sending a case to trial. Nanterre prosecutor Pascal Prache said his initial investigation led him to conclude that the officer’s use of his weapon wasn’t legally justified. Nahel’s mother, identified as Mounia M., told France 5 television that she was angry at the officer but not at the police in general. “He saw a little Arab-looking kid, he wanted to take his life,” she said. “A police officer cannot take his gun and fire at our children, take our children’s lives,” she said. The family has roots in Algeria. In the wake of Nahel’s killing, French anti-racism activists have renewed complaints about police behavior. Thirteen people who didn’t comply with traffic stops were fatally shot by French police last year. This year, another three people, including Nahel, died under similar circumstances. The deaths have prompted demands for more accountability in France, which also saw racial justice protests after George Floyd’s killing by police in Minnesota. This week’s protests echoed the three weeks of rioting in 2005 that followed the deaths of 15-year-old Bouna Traoré and 17-year-old Zyed Benna, who were electrocuted while hiding from police in a power substation in Clichy-sous-Bois. Read More Paris riots - latest: Nearly 1,000 arrested across France overnight as police ‘at war’ Is it safe to travel to Paris right now? Paris shooting: Where are the riots in France and why are they happening? Who is Nahel M? The teen shot dead by police in France Where are the French riots and why are they happening? More than 900 people are arrested overnight as young rioters clash with police around France

Nearly 1,000 people have been arrested across France overnight as police have claimed they are “at war” while the family of a teenager shot dead by an officer prepared for his funeral on Saturday. Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin announced on Saturday morning that 994 people had been arrested in the fourth consecutive night of nationwide clashes while 79 were injured. In turn, police claimed in a leaked intelligence report that they are “at wore with savage hordes of vermin” intent on attacking them and destroying as much property as possible. Nahel Merzouk, 17, will on Saturday be laid to rest following an Islamic ceremony close to his home in the north-western Paris suburb of Nanterre, where he was shot in the chest as he sat at the wheel of a stationary Mercedes last Tuesday. The officer responsible - identified as Florian M., 38 - remains on remand having been charged with murder. Meanwhile, Nahel M’s mother, identified as just Mounia, told France 5 television: “I don’t blame the police, I blame one person: the one who took the life of my son.” The UK Foreign Office has warned British tourists about the dangers of travelling in France. Read More Who is Nahel? The teen shot dead by police in France Is it safe to travel to Paris right now? ‘This is war’: France burns amid angry protests after teenager shot dead by police in Paris suburb Fear of no end to riots across France after police killing of teen: ‘It’s getting worse and worse’