While
in France,
people are
rallying for a third day
over the fatal police
shooting of a teenager.
You are seeing his mother right there
leading a tribute march
a short while ago.
The boy
identified by authorities
only as Nadal
and is reported
to be of North African descent.
The shooting happened
during a traffic stop on Tuesday
in downtown
a working class town
on the outskirts of Paris.
French officials say the officer
who shot and killed the 17 year
old acted, quote, illegally.
We're now learning
that the officer has been put
under formal investigation
for voluntary homicide.
Well, protesters
have set fire to several cars
in Old Town.
French President Emmanuel Macron
calling the shooting unjustifiable
while also condemning the unrest.
Our Paris correspondent Melissa Bell
has more
Cars, town
halls, schools set on fire across France
as rage over the police
shooting of 17 year old Niall continued
into his second night.
Enough to force the French
president to call an emergency
ministerial meeting Listen.
Did you know
the last hours have been marked
by violent scenes
against police stations,
but also schools and town halls.
And basically against institutions
and the republic.
It's absolutely unjustifiable
just to share
the deployment of some 2000
police officers on Wednesday
to the Paris suburbs
did little to quell the anger
with 150 people detained
It's not the republic
that was in custody.
It was not the republic
that killed this young man.
Please.
The government's spokesman early
this morning
Another appeal in vain to calm
the violence has been described.
Some of the attacks on government
institutions as
organized, almost coordinated
in response,
a massive
deployment of police forces on Thursday.
Some 40,000 across France
including 5000 in Paris.
But even before nightfall, a protest
led by nuns mother turned violent.
Emotions still raw
even as the police officer
accused of shooting.
The teen was placed
under formal investigation
for voluntary homicide.
Scuffles breaking out along
the margins of the march.
Some 6000 strong,
according to local media.
Anger on the streets
of France remains all too palpable,
with a family grieving
and a community looking for answers
as Paris suburbs and much of the country
prepare for another difficult night
CNN's Melissa Bell standing by in Paris.
And as I'm going to pick up
with what you left off there,
Melissa Community looking for answers.
I'm expecting
that they will come out to the streets
once more.
How are authorities preparing for this
Well, there are
those 40,000 policemen
and women that are to be deployed
not just here on the outskirts of Greater
Paris, Isa.
And those neighborhoods,
those communities
so traditionally affected
by these sorts of incidents and questions
and tragedies
There is
the deployment across the country.
But the fear is
that just as we saw last night,
anything that represented the state,
whether it was schools,
police stations, town halls,
they were targeted.
The expectation is that
that will happen again tonight
because of that deep seated anger
at the fact
that here in France for many years, Isa,
despite
many of these tragedies, over the years,
allegations of police brutality
and fears of the systemic racism
that many believe a fueled home
or allow them
or certainly have underpinned
them are not sufficiently investigated.
In fact,
it is very difficult in this country
to find even the words to do
so since state institutions cannot speak
of questions of race and ethnicity in the
in the tradition, in the respect of the
institutions of the republic,
people are meant to be considered equal.
What that means is that any hint
of differences that are to do with race
or religion or ethnicity
are sort of drowned out.
And that's part of the frustration
that you're seeing
in those neighborhoods tonight.
We saw it this afternoon.
It's likely to continue tonight
because that anger
is something that they feel a great deal
and that they have a lot of trouble
getting recognized by authorities.
And it has made it
traditionally very difficult
for the police to address
those issues of racism within its ranks.
We should be keeping a close eye
on what's happening
in the streets of Paris.
Thank you very much.
Melissa Bell there for us.
Well, rights
groups in France
have been speaking out
against police violence
and systemic racism
within law enforcement for years.
I want to discuss further matter.
This is an expert on security
and police issues,
as well as a political science
researcher at the University of Exile.
Matt, your great to have you on the show.
I mean, I want to get your thoughts
if I could start off with
with this tragic incident,
of course, that's fueled
this anger that Melissa was talking about
and this rage. It's fair.
I think it's fair to say
that there's been a discrepancy
from what
the video of the traffic traffic
shop show and the police
initial statement.
What are your thoughts as
you looked at that video?
Well, there is indeed an
a discrepancy
between the initial statements
of the police officers
that said that
the car was about to hit them.
And the reality, what the video shows.
Well, what I thought well, obviously,
it's not a self-defense case.
It's not a self-defense
case in the sense
that I don't think
that the physical integrity
or lives
or the police officers were in danger
when they
when one of them decided to to fire
one rounds from his pistol.
My belief is that the defense
and basically
this is the statements
that the imprisoned police officer
that the one that is currently in custody
made is that the driving was of that
young man was extremely dangerous
and he was not supposed to be driving
in the first place because he's 17.
In France,
you have to be 18 to
have a driver's license.
And that he was posing
a danger of threats to the surrounding
potentially to surrounding people,
to bystanders, to people who were
working in the public space,
which is why he used
his firearm and in France since 2017
it is allowed to open fire on a vehicle
if that vehicle is basically fleeing
is not compliance and is posing a danger
to a physical danger to people around.
But you lay down the defense
which looks incredibly forward.
I mean it's not
reasons to be shooting someone
just because he's under age for driving.
But you know, this is not mature.
And I think Melissa touched on this.
This is not an isolated incident.
You know,
today chooses killing I should say,
was the third fatal
shooting during traffic stops in France
so far
in 2023 Last year there were a record 13.
I mean this suggests Mathieu doesn't it,
that there's something wrong
Yes.
This is why actually
I mentioned the 2017 law.
The 2017 law
caused a massive
increase of those of those shootings
before 2017 2016.
You had basically 120 or 130 shots
fired at vehicles in France in 2017.
The law was passed in early 2017.
That number increased to 202.
And indeed we went from basically
one to two people killed every year
during those incidents to above ten,
which of course is much lower
than what it is
in the United States for instance.
But by French
or even European standards,
this is pretty high
if you compare with Germany.
Germany has almost none every year.
And the law clearly is a huge
part of the problem,
as you're stating
there were one parts of the problem.
The other is,
as I had several the protesters
on our air say today,
they have been talking
about institutional racism and proof
filing racial profile.
One man said,
we are all night
is all of us, I think was what he said
is the French police
then force institutionally racist?
Okay.
You're right.
This is part of the broader picture
and something that started
about 40 years ago.
So basically
for the international audience
that is watching us,
you have to understand that
French suburbs are on big urban areas.
In France, you have in the suburbs,
you have big housing projects,
very large housing projects
where immigrants are
where many immigrants are located,
basically mostly manual workers.
And for the past 40 years, yes,
there have been major tensions
between the police
and the first second,
now third generation immigrants.
And when I'm seeing immigrants, it's
predominantly from the former
colonial areas
of France, meaning North Africa,
and sub-Saharan Africa.
And yes, police
stops are a very big problem in
France, are a very big bone of contention
between those youth and the police
You said there in your report or I think
it's your report on the ground
that said,
there are no statistics in France
about that. It's true.
There are no official ones
but us
academics have the rights to collect data
about that
and to conduct research about that. And.
Well, depending on the research,
depending on the on the era,
you have basically
something like eight or ten times more
attentive I'm sorry, a ten times
higher likelihood to be checked,
to be stopped and searched by the police
if you're of Arab or African origin.
Very interesting.
I'm sure I'm fortunate
we don't have time for more.
Bratton really find this
absolutely fascinating what this means
and what the law
what Macron can do
with his political appetite for this.
Fascinating material.
Really appreciate
you taking the time to speak to us.
Thank you, Matthew. My pleasure. Goodbye.