In France, the grandmother of the murdered teenager called for an end to the protests

The grandmother of 17-year-old Nael M., after whose murder mass protests broke out in France, called for an end to them. In an interview with the French television channel BFM TV, she said that some of the protesters use the teenager’s death as a pretext for riots.

“We don’t want them to destroy shops, buses and schools. We want everything to calm down,” said the deceased’s grandmother on behalf of his family.

On July 27, a 17-year-old resident of the French city of Nanterre, Nael M., an Algerian by origin, was stopped by a police patrol for violating traffic rules while driving a car, and then shot dead. Initially, the police claimed that the teenager tried to run over the patrol.

Later, a video of the murder was published, which contradicted the version of the police. As a result, mass protests broke out in dozens of French cities, including Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Lille and Toulouse, which turned into clashes with the police and riots. They do not stop until now. A number of protest participants set fire to cars, looted shops and houses.

More than 45,000 law enforcement officers were deployed to quell the riots. Several hundred of them suffered. A curfew has been introduced in a number of French cities. Prime Minister of France Elizabeth Bourne did not rule out the introduction of a state of emergency in the country.

In turn, the 38-year-old policeman who shot Nael M. was taken into custody. He was charged with premeditated murder.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who had to cancel several high-level meetings, called the teenager’s murder “inexplicable and unforgivable”, but called for an end to violence and calm “so that justice can prevail”.