Gran of teen shot dead in Paris by cops begs rioters to stop and pleads for calm
The granny of the teenager killed by French police last night begged rioters to stop after a town mayor was targeted by thugs who sent a blazing car into his home.
The call came as it emerged that many of the riots were orchestrated by youngsters using secret Snapchat and TikTok accounts.
There was widespread condemnation of the attack on a city mayor which left his children, aged seven and five, terrified and his wife with a broken leg.
Disorder has broken out across the country after Nahel Merzouk, a 17-year-old takeaway delivery driver of Algerian descent, was shot in the chest point-blank at the wheel of a Mercedes last week.
Video footage shared online showed two police officers at his window, one with his gun pointed at the driver. As the teenager pulled forward, he fired through the windshield.
Violence gripped French cities for a fifth night on Saturday (MOHAMMED BADRA/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)Following an initial wave of protests, recent nights have seen violence spike, as in some areas police were fired upon as looting took place.
Nahel's grandmother, Nadia, issued a plea to rioters on Sunday to stop the disorder, telling BFM TV: "We don't want them to destroy shops, buses and schools,
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"They are using Nahel as an excuse. We want things to calm down".
She added that she has confidence that the police officer will be punished by a court of law like anyone else.
The grandmother of 17-year-old Nahel Merzouk (pictured) said rioters were using his death as an 'excuse'
Nadia told French TV that she trusted justice would be done for her grandson (Sky News)On Saturday, the mayor of the southern Paris suburb of L'Haÿ-les-Roses, Vincent Jeanbrun, claimed his family were targeted by rioters in an apparent attempt on his life.
He said his wife and one of his children had been injured fleeing an attacker who rammed his house with a car and then set the car on fire.
Releasing a statement, he said a “milestone was reached in horror”, and branded it an assassination attempt.
Footage released on Sunday showed him being consoled by locals, as one woman told him: "I'm with you with all my heart. I send my regards to your wife."
The mayor of the southern Paris suburb of L'Haÿ-les-Roses, Vincent Jeanbrun, saw his family attacked on Saturday night (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)Across the country over 700 people were arrested overnight, many of them in Marseilles, as terrible scenes of violence hit the city.
Police fought running battles with gangs of youths firing tear gas on numerous occasions before the situation calmed just before dawn.
French officials said 45 police officers had been injured, 74 buildings including 26 police stations damaged, and 577 vehicles set on fire.
In Paris hundreds of Police descended on the Champs-Elysées to prevent attempts - organised on Snapchat and TikTok - to attack posh high-end shops and boutiques.
A home belonging to Mayor of l'Hay-les-Roses Vincent Jeanbrun was targeted last night (AFP via Getty Images)
Police surrounded the Arc de Triomphe last night as a major security operation descended on the capital (MOHAMMED BADRA/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)
And they revealed that the average of people arrested was just 17, meaning many of those held were just 14 and 15 years old. The violence may have quietened a little in Paris but it showed no signs of levelling off in many other cities.
The Paris police chief said it was too early to say the unrest had been quashed.
Laurent Nunez said: “There was evidently less damage, but we will remain mobilised in the coming days.
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We are very focused; nobody is claiming victory.”
Clashes between protestors and police have seen further injuries (Frederic MUNSCH/SIPA/REX/Shutterstock)The unrest has raised concerns abroad, with France hosting the Rugby World Cup in the autumn and the Paris Olympic Games in the summer of 2024.
Britain and other European countries updated their travel advice to warn tourists to stay away from areas affected by the rioting.
Nahel's death was the third fatal shooting by police during traffic stops in France in 2023.
The officer who killed Nahel is being held in jail, and has reportedly asked Nahel’s family for forgiveness.
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