NANTERRE, France (AP) — A year after a French teenager of North African descent was killed by police — a shooting that sparked shock and days of rioting across France — his mother is leading a silent march Saturday to honor her son.
It comes at a politically charged time. Hate speech is ruining the campaign for early parliamentary elections taking place this weekend, and an anti-immigration party that wants to increase the power of police to use their weapons, and has historical links to racism and anti-Semitism, is leading in the polls.
Family and friends gather in the Paris suburb of Nanterre to remember 17-year-old Nahel Merzouk, who was shot dead at close range by a police officer during a traffic stop on June 27, 2023. Within hours of his death, Merzouk, a deliveryman from a working-class neighborhood, became a symbol. For many in France, he was the embodiment of young French black and North African men, who, according to research, face more police stops and discrimination than their white counterparts.
“United in our quest for justice and truth. Nahel will not be forgotten. The struggle will be echoed in our steps and voices,” Nahel’s relatives said in an Instagram post. Only his mother Mounia and his close friends are expected to speak publicly at the march, and they want to avoid any politics or tensions a day before the French parliamentary meeting. elections.
On Sunday, French voters will cast their votes in the first round of snap elections for the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, that could lead to the country’s first far-right government since the Nazi occupation in World War II.
French opinion polls suggest the Rassemblement National party could dominate the next parliament after the runoff on July 7 and win the job of prime minister. In that scenario, centrist President Emmanuel Macron would retain the presidency until 2027, but in a greatly weakened role.
“This march, which is taking place now, is a powerful symbol,” said Assa Traore, who has been fighting for justice since the death of her brother Adama in French police custody in 2016.
“It means that history cannot write itself without us. We, from the working-class neighborhoods, are the victims of these elections. We realized early on that the Rassemblement National and far-right parties were a danger to our country and would weaken it,” said the 39-year-old of Malian origin who will march with Merzouk’s family.
Merzouk’s death, captured on video, has fueled long-running tensions between police and young people in housing projects and deprived suburbs, many of whom are French-born and immigrant. Fueled by TikTok, the riots spread with unprecedented speed before police responded en masse. French authorities say the unrest caused more than $1 billion in damage.
The officer who fired the shot claims self-defense. An extreme right-wing figure started a crowdfunding campaign for the police officer. This one raised $1.6 million before he was arrested.
Citing security concerns, particularly in housing developments and other impoverished areas in French suburbs or ‘banlieues’, the far-right National Rally wants to give the police a specific new legal status. If police officers use their weapons during an intervention, they are presumed to have acted in self-defense. Currently, police officers have the same legal status as all French citizens and must prove that they acted in self-defense.
The left-wing coalition New People’s Front now wants to ban the use of certain police weapons and dismantle a notoriously tough police unit.
“People fear the victory of the National Rally. But we, people from working-class neighborhoods, fear every day that our sons, brothers or husbands will be murdered. Racism and racial profiling are our daily lives,” Traore said.
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Angela Charlton from Paris contributed.
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