France re-enacts fatal shooting of teenager that led to riots

The lawyer representing the family of a 17-year-old who was shot by police in a Paris suburb in June 2023 says the officer responsible for his death was not in danger, following a reconstruction of the events that sparked a week of riots across France.

Speaking on RTL radio this Monday, lawyer Nabil Boudi said that the police officer who shot Nahel M. in Nanterre on 27 June 2023 was not in mortal danger.

The claim comes a day after a reconstruction of the events that led to Nahel's death was staged in the Paris suburb.

According to Boudi, who represents Nahel's mother, "The reconstruction was based on ... and what we can see on the videos is that the police officer was not in danger. Consequently, the use of his weapon was not necessary".

Video sparks riots

The footage, posted on social networks, shows the two police officers on the side of the vehicle, pointing their weapons at the driver.

One of them shot him as the vehicle starts up again and the car then crashed into a concrete block a few dozen metres away.

Its posting on social media a few hours after Nahel's death contradicted the police version, which said that the young man had run into the motorcyclist.

Both police officers maintain that their lives were in danger because they were trapped between the car and a wall.

Journalists were not allowed to attend the reenactment.


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