A firefighter looks on as vehicles burn following riots in Nanterre, west of Paris, on June 28, 2023, a day after a 17-year-old boy was shot in the chest by police at point-blank range in this western suburb of Paris. (Photo by ZAKARIA ABDELKAFI/AFP via Getty Images)
OAN’s Roy Francis
2:23 PM – Thursday, June 29, 2023
France is deploying 40,000 police officers after a morning crisis meeting in response to the riots that erupted after the deadly police shooting of a 17-year-old.
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On Thursday morning, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said that policing will be “more than quadrupled” going up from 9,000 to 40,000 officers in the Paris region.
The protests and unrests erupted in Paris after video footage circulating on social media showed a police officer fatally shooting 17-year-old Nahel during a traffic stop.
The 17-year-old had ran a red light to avoid the officers and then got stuck in traffic. The officers drew their weapons as they approached the vehicle.
The officer who fired the shot said that he felt threatened and that he feared he and his colleagues or someone in the vicinity could be hit by the car as the driver attempted to drive away from the officers.
The police officer was handed a preliminary charge of voluntary homicide after the initial investigation concluded that “the conditions for the legal use of the weapon were not met” according to prosecutor Pascal Prache.
The protests began on Tuesday night after the footage surfaced, with 31 people being arrested the first night. Riots continued the next day with cars and trash cans being set on fire as well as fireworks being set off near police stations. Riot police had resorted to tear gas in order to break up the protesters.
On Wednesday, reports indicated that “scores” of police officers have been injured and almost 100 public building were damaged.
“The professionals of disorder must go home,” Darmanin said. “The state’s response will be extremely firm.”
French RAID swat team unit with shotguns are being escorted by the french BAC riot police, sweeping the streets with their rifles, as #France braces itself likely for an intense extreme violent night of riots. pic.twitter.com/IIrYB2JGqv
— Sotiri Dimpinoudis (@sotiridi) June 29, 2023
Bus and train services in Paris were shut down before sunset as a precaution, while other towns, such as the town of Clamart with a population of 54,000, have implemented curfew which takes place from 9:00 p.m. until 6:00 a.m.
As of Thursday, the riots have continued with more than 180 people being arrested after violent clashes between them and police officers.
During the emergency meeting, French President Emmanuel Macron addressed the situation saying that what is happening throughout the country is “unjustifiable” and said that he was planning more support for the coming days “so full peace can return.”
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