On 27 June 2023, Nahel Merzouk (25 February 2006 – 27 June 2023), a French 17-year-old of Moroccan and Algerian descent, was shot at point-blank range and killed by police officer Florian Menesplier in Nanterre, a suburb of Paris, France. Initial reporting on the incident (informed by police statements) was later contradicted by a video posted online, which led to widespread protests and riots. Symbols of the state such as town halls, schools, police stations, and other buildings were attacked. The Interior Ministry reported that more than 5,000 vehicles had been set on fire, along with 10,000 garbage cans; nearly 1,000 buildings had been burnt, damaged or looted; 250 police stations and gendarmeries had been attacked; and more than 700 police officers had been injured.
The killing—condemned by President Emmanuel Macron as "inexplicable" and "inexcusable"—became part of a broader public debate regarding aggressive French law enforcement, racial profiling, immigration, and the stakes of naming the suburban violence a "riot" rather than a "revolt". On 28 June, the president of the National Assembly, Yaël Braun-Pivet, asked deputies "to respect a minute of silence in Nahel's memory".
Background
France saw a rise in in the years before the killing. In 2017, a law was passed permitting police to shoot at a vehicle fleeing a traffic stop, if the driver was putting the passengers or passersby at risk. This shooting was the third fatal shooting that occurred during a traffic stop in France in 2023. In 2020, there were three deaths, followed by two in 2021, and 13 in 2022, leading to the indictment of five police officers. The victims were often people of black or Maghrebi origin, leading to allegations of systemic racism within the French police. In May 2023, national representatives at the United Nations Human Rights Council criticized the country's police force and urged the implementation of significant measures to address excessive use of force in demonstrations. The French government has frequently downplayed instances of police violence, sometimes even avoiding the use of the term itself, while police unions opposed repealing or revising the 2017 law.
On 19 July 2016, Adama Traoré, a 24-year-old black man, died while in custody after being restrained and apprehended by the police. This incident sparked widespread public outcry and protests, which reignited in May 2020 when the officers involved were cleared of any wrongdoing. On 14 June 2023, Alhoussein Camara, a 19-year-old, was killed during a road check in Angoulême. His body was repatriated to Conakry, Guinea, by his family and the Guinean authorities. While there, they appealed to France for justice to be served.
Victim
Nahel Merzouk (; ) was a 17-year-old enrolled at the Lycée Louis-Blériot in Suresnes, where he attended classes for six months before dropping out and working as a pizza delivery driver in Nanterre. He did not have a driving license allowing him to drive the rented Mercedes he died in. According to a paramedic who knew him, his father left his mother before he was born. According to his family's lawyers, Merzouk had no criminal record but the prosecutor confirmed he was "known to police", particularly for resisting arrest, and had been charged with resisting arrest the previous weekend and five times since 2021. According to information leaked to Europe 1, his police file (TAJ) included 15 recorded incidents, including the use of false license plates and driving without insurance.
Shooting
Prosecution version
According to the public prosecutor of Nanterre, two Paris Police Prefecture motorcycle officers noticed a Mercedes-Benz A Class AMG with a Polish license plate driving at high speed in a bus lane, driven by a young-looking person at around 7:55am. The officers activated their warning signals (audible and visual) and indicated to the driver of the car, then stationary at a red traffic light, to stop. The vehicle started moving and ran the red light. The officers followed the car and alerted their superiors via radio. The car committed multiple traffic violations, endangering a pedestrian and a cyclist.