(PARIS) — France has been beset by violent unrest in recent days after a police officer shot and killed a teenager in a Paris suburb.
Here’s what we know about the situation:
What sparked the protests?
A17-year-old driver was shot dead by a police officer during a traffic check in the northwestern Paris suburb of Nanterre on the morning of June 27. The officer has been detained on suspicion of voluntary homicide amid an ongoing investigation into the incident, according to the local prosecutor’s office.
Nanterre prosecutor Pascal Prache said the officer did not meet the requirements to discharge his weapon and will remain in custody awaiting trial.
France’s Inspectorate General of the National Police, which investigates allegations of police misconduct, is also conducting a probe into the fatal shooting.
Lawyers for the victim’s family identified him as Nahel M., a French citizen of Algerian descent who lived in a working-class area of Nanterre. The lawyers told ABC News that they have filed complaints against the officer accused of pulling the trigger and another officer who was at the scene.
Nahel was laid to rest in Nanterre on July 1, after a funeral service at a mosque that drew hundreds of attendees.
How has France reacted?
Widespread riots erupted in the streets of France following Nahel’s death, with at least seven consecutive nights of violence. While tensions have remained highest in the Paris suburbs, almost every French region has been hit with unrest since the fatal shooting.
Angry protesters have clashed with riot police and more than 3,000 people have been arrested nationwide over the past week, according to the French Ministry of the Interior.
On several nights, rioters erected barricades, threw fireworks at police, ransacked businesses and set fires to thousands of cars and buildings. Police stations, schools and town halls were among the buildings targeted, the interior ministry said.
As a result, more than 40,000 law enforcement officers have been deployed across France at night to quell violence, using tear gas, water cannons and non-lethal dispersion grenades against rioters. Hundreds of those officers have been injured, according to the interior ministry. It was unclear how many protesters were injured.
Meanwhile, the French government canceled large-scale events around the country and curfews were put in place in multiple cities.
Both French President Emmanuel Macron and French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin have repeatedly called for “calm” as authorities investigate the fatal shooting.
Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.