French community pays tribute to teenager killed by police

NANTERRE, France –

A year after a French teenager of North African descent was killed by police – a shooting that sparked shock and days of riots across France – his mother led a silent march on Saturday to pay tribute to her son.

The announcement comes at a politically charged moment. Hate speech is marring the campaign for snap parliamentary elections this weekend, and an anti-immigration party that wants to strengthen police gun powers and has historical links to racism and anti-Semitism is leading the polls.

Several hundred family members, friends and supporters gathered in Nanterre, a suburb of Paris, to pay tribute to Nahel Merzouk, 17, who was shot at point-blank range by a police officer during a traffic stop on June 27, 2023.

Hours after his death, Merzouk, a delivery driver from a working-class neighborhood, became a symbol. For many in France, he embodied young black and North African French men who, according to studies, are more often stopped and discriminated against than their white counterparts.

“My son was executed,” his mother Mounia told the crowd. “When I go home, there is no one. I don't have my baby anymore. When I go to his room, it is empty.” She expressed fear of meeting the police officer who killed her son and was released pending further investigation.

Friends wore white T-shirts with Merzouk’s photo, and residents of his town held a banner reading “Justice for Nahel.” The march ended at the spot where he was killed, and an imam sang and read a prayer.

There was no visible police presence, although march organizers recruited guards to provide security for the event. Merzouk's mother asked politicians to stay away, to avoid political intrigue and tensions on the eve of the French legislative elections.

On Sunday, French voters will vote in the first round of snap elections for the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, which could lead to the country's first far-right government since the Nazi occupation of World War II.

French opinion polls suggest that the National Rally could dominate the next parliament after the second round on July 7 and secure the post of prime minister. In this scenario, centrist President Emmanuel Macron would retain the presidency until 2027, but in a significantly weakened role.

“This march, which is taking place now, is a strong symbol,” said Assa Traoré, who has been fighting for justice since the death of his brother Adama in police custody in 2016.

“This means that history cannot be written without us. We, the people of the working-class neighborhoods, are the first victims of these elections,” said the 39-year-old Malian who marched alongside Merzouk’s family. “We are afraid every day that our sons, brothers or husbands will be killed. Racism and racial profiling are our daily lives.”

Merzouk's death, filmed, has reignited long-simmering tensions between the police and young people from disadvantaged cities and suburbs, many of whom are young people born in France and with an immigrant background. Fueled by TikTok, the riots spread with unprecedented speed before a massive police crackdown. The unrest caused, according to French authorities, more than a billion dollars in damage.

The officer who fired the shot claimed self-defense, and a far-right figure launched a crowdfunding campaign for the officer that raised $1.6 million before it was shut down.

Citing security concerns, particularly in disadvantaged suburban areas, the National Rally (RND) wants to give the police a new, specific legal status. If a police officer uses his weapons during an intervention, he will be presumed to have acted in self-defense. Currently, police officers have the same legal status as all French citizens and must prove that they acted in self-defense.

The left-wing New Popular Front coalition, meanwhile, wants to ban the use of certain police weapons and dismantle a notoriously tough police unit.

Among the protesters Sunday was Lina Marsouk, a 15-year-old student from Nanterre, who described seeing relatives subjected to brutal police checks. “I was traumatized by these scenes,” she said.

Born and raised in France and of Algerian origin, she also recounted being told to “go back to her country” during a visit to nearby Paris.

“I’ve always lived here,” she said. “These comments are hurtful. I am sad and disappointed that France has taken this direction. »

Associated Press writer Angela Charlton in Paris contributed.