Riots have broken out in Paris after a teenage driver was shot dead by police ‘in cold blood’.
The killing was videoed in Nanterre, to the west of the French capital, on Tuesday after the youth – who is from an Algerian background – allegedly broke traffic rules.
The victim was soon identified as Nael, 17, while the officer was arrested and placed in custody.
As youths began to pour on the streets, setting fire to dustbins and buildings, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin appealed for calm.
He told the National Assembly in Paris that the images posted on social media were ‘extremely shocking and worrying’ and urged people to ‘respect the grief of the family and the presumption of innocence of the police’.
Ambulance crew tried to resuscitate Nael at at the scene of the shooting, but he died soon afterwards.
The video shows two officers trying to stop his car and one pointing his weapon at the driver through the front window.
He shouts: ‘I’m going to lodge a bullet in your head’ before firing at point blank range.
The car moved for 10 yards, before crashing to a halt, with shocked passers-by looking on.
The IGPN national police inspectorate has opened an investigation into possible ‘intentional killing by a person holding a position of public authority.’
Paris police chief Laurent Nunez said the action of the officer ‘raises questions’, while claiming that the officer may have ‘felt threatened’.
Yassine Bouzrou, lawyer for Nael’s family, said the video ‘clearly showed a policeman killing a young man in cold blood.’
Mr Bouzrou added: ‘This is a long way from any kind of legitimate defence’.
