Outrage at funeral of teen whose death sparked unrest

Bel Trew speaks to friends and neighbours of Nahel Marzouk

- Bel Trew

The number of mourners was so large, crowds spilled out of the Parisian mosque and stopped traffic as they prayed in the middle of the street.

The killing of 17-year-old Nahel Marzouk by the police has been labelled an "execution" and has ignited the fury of the nation, sparking a level of unrest not seen in France for over a decade.

At least 2,400 people have been arrested across the country, curfews imposed and public transport curtailed as open street battles raged between protesters and police, and looting became rampant.

In response, President Emmanuel Macron deployed 45,000 officers, including elite anti-terrorism units and armoured vehicles which scour the streets.

But yesterday, at Nahel’s funeral at a mosque in Nanterre, the west Paris suburb where he lived and was fatally shot, the most glaring absence was the security forces.

Volunteers from the local community instead curtly policed the streets, which are scrawled with the phrase “the country of police impunity”.

They reined in the emotions, which ran high when the body was brought out to a hearse escorted by hundreds of people on foot and on scooters.

“It is finished,” Nahel mother Mounia said bravely, in a cloud of female well-wishers after the coffin was lowered into the earth. “He has gone to paradise.”

Nahel – a teenager of Moroccan and Algerian origin – was shot by a police officer during a traffic stop on Tuesday: an incident which was caught on mobile phone footage, and showed Nahel driving away from the officers before one fired at him.