How an early morning trip led to a death that tore France apart

A participant holds a banner as cars burn in the street at the end of a march in memory of a teenager shot dead by a policeman in Nanterre Photo: AFP

«He's crazy . He shot me,” breathed Nahel Merzouk, huddled in the driver's seat of a crashed Mercedes with a police bullet in her chest.

The 17-year-old was dying at the peak of traffic at 8:19 am on Tuesday. A few hours earlier, he had kissed his mother Muniya and told her «I love you mom» before she went to work.

One of his passengers, 17-year-old Fuad, panicked and fled to the busy streets of the Parisian suburb of Nanterre.

But another passenger, 14-year-old Adam, was in the back seat. and heard his friend's last whispered words.

Less than 25 minutes before, a series of events began that led to Nahel's death and six days of unrest that rocked France and forced it to confront its relationship with race .

The murder of Nahel, of Algerian-Moroccan descent, has sparked unrest on a scale not seen since the state of emergency was declared in 2005 as France grappled with the aftermath of the deaths of two teenagers who were electrocuted by electricity. station while on the run from the police in another suburb of Paris.

learn to be an electrician

According to French prosecutors, the latest incident began when two motorcyclist officers spotted a bright yellow Mercedes with Polish license plates speeding down the bus lane on Boulevard Jacques-Germain-Soufflot in Nanterre.

They put on sirens and ordered Nahel, who was driving without a license, to stop. But when he ran a red light, trying to confuse the police, the chase began.

The Mercedes raced down a pedestrian crossing, passing a pedestrian and a cyclist, before getting stuck in traffic on the Boulevard de la Défense.

The officers dismounted, approached the car on the left and drew their weapons. Pointing their pistols at Nahel, they ordered him to turn off the ignition.

As the car sped forward, one officer, who was identified as Florian M., 38, shot Nahel once, hitting him in the chest. The same officer then administered first aid at the scene, but shortly thereafter, at 9:15 am, Nahel's death was announced. A police officer points a gun at the driver of a yellow Mercedes

But Adam, the passenger in the back seat, tells a completely different story. His version of events is supported by 17-year-old Fuad, a passenger who initially fled the scene.

According to Adam, the police climbed into the car and hit Nahel several times in the head with rifle butts.< /p>

One the officer warned the teenager that he would «put a bullet» in his head if he did not turn off the engine, as he claimed.

As he tried to protect himself from the blows, Nahel's foot came off the brake pedal of the automatic vehicle.

Adam claims that as the vehicle moved forward, he heard the officer say, «Shoot him.» Nahel was shot at point-blank range.

Fuad's lawyer said the teenager's family would file a complaint with the prosecutor's office against the officer who killed Nahel for «deliberate violence.»

There is nothing new or surprising in the rugged suburbs of the capital in allegations of police brutality.

There were also no reports that Nahel, who was raised by his mother and never knew his father, had previously dealt with the law.

Firefighters try to put out burning cars during clashes between demonstrators and police. Photo: Reuters : Reuters

A takeaway driver who went to college to train as an electrician has been subjected to police checks five times since 2021 for refusing to obey a stop order.

A little over a week ago, after his death, he was placed in custody for refusing to comply and was due to appear in juvenile court in September.

Most of the trouble he faced was related to cars: driving without rights or insurance and the use of false license plates. .

But Nahel was never convicted, said family lawyer Jennifer Kumble, and he had no criminal record.

«I think it's rare in a suburb like this that a young man isn't stopped by the police or taken into custody,» Ms Kambla said of the boy, much loved in Nanterre, who played rugby.

Seven days after Nahel's death, Emmanuel Macron tried to regain the initiative by proposing fines for parents who do not prevent robbery and vandalism of minors after it emerged that 1,200 were arrested during the riots Human. persons under the age of 18.

According to the latest data, 3354 people were arrested in the week after Nahel's death. Officer Florian M. was also arrested and charged with premeditated murder.

But no arrests would have been made if not for the fatal first encounter between the underage Nael and the police on the streets of Nanterre in the morning. Tuesday, June 27.