Fourth Night of Unrest in France: Over 1,300 Arrests as Nahel’s Funeral Ceremony Approaches

Violence and unrest have continued to rage in cities across France for a fourth night, despite a huge police deployment and 1,311 arrests. The unrest was sparked by the killing of a 17-year-old, identified as Nahel, by police in the Paris suburb of Nanterre.

The legal team representing Nahel’s family has not yet said if they believe race was a factor in the shooting, which has stirred long-simmering tensions between French police and young people living in disadvantaged neighborhoods. Nanterre prosecutor Pascal Prache said in a statement on Thursday that the police officer who fired said he had feared someone may be hit by the car, including him or his colleague, after Nahel ran a red light.

France’s Interior Ministry announced the new figure for arrests around the country, where 45,000 police officers have been deployed in a so-far unsuccessful bid to quell the violence. Despite an appeal to parents by President Emmanuel Macron to keep their children at home, street clashes between young protesters and police have continued.

Nahel’s funeral ceremony is scheduled to take place on Saturday. Prache said the officer accused of the killing had been given a preliminary charge of voluntary homicide and was being held in custody. The unrest has continued to spread across the country, with cars and buildings set ablaze and stores looted. It remains to be seen how the situation will develop in the coming days.