Relative calm returns to France’s streets after days of unrest, but killing of teenager forces Macron and his nation to reckon with country’s history of racism, police brutality and anti-Muslim hatred
As of Monday, the interior ministry reported that 157 people were arrested overnight, down from over 700 arrests the night before following Nahel's funeral, and over 1,300 on Friday night.
And with Paris hosting the Rugby World Cup this fall as well as the Summer Olympics in July and August of 2024, the issue is expected to remain in the spotlight, although it is still unclear how the government could effectively address the problem, short of deploying tens of thousands of security forces across major cities and barricading the country's streets.
For Macron, the issue on racism, police brutality as well as Islamophobia present a much bigger challenge for the French society itself. The deadly shooting of Nahel Merzouk, for instance was the third of its kind this year, down from a record 13 people who were killed after not complying with a traffic stop in 2022, according to a Reuters analysis of data.
As to the latest killing of Nahel Merzouk, the officer, who shot him has been charged preliminarily of voluntary homicide, meaning that 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.
Following the latest violent protests, the UN Human Rights office issued a statement calling on France to"deep issues" of racism in policing.
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