Demonstrators clash with police after a march protesting the shooting of Nahel, 17, by a police officer in the Nanterre suburb of Paris, France, on Thursday, June 29, 2023. Credit: Benjamin Girette/Bloomberg
Recent widespread protests and violent unrest in France followed the fatal shooting by police of a 17-year-old boy of North African descent, Nahel Merzouk, during a traffic stop on July 27. A peaceful vigil took place in the area of Nanterre on the outskirts of Paris where the shooting occurred, before protests became violent, with cars torched and clashes with police. Unrest spread to other areas, including the Champs Elysées in central Paris, and over the following days it expanded to cities such as Marseille, Lyon, Pau, Toulouse and Lille. More than 3,000 people were arrested.
The recent unrest was the most severe the country has seen since the deaths of two teenagers in 2005, who had also had contact with the police. It follows the 'yellow vest' protests that were sparked by a rise in fuel tax in 2018 and resulted $1.2 billion in losses to French retailers, and recent protests and clashes with police after President Emmanuel Macron pressed ahead with plans to increase the retirement age from 62 to 64.
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