A crowd gathers in front of the Ibn Badis mosque, where mourners gather to pay their respects on Saturday in Nanterre, France.
Rebecca Rosman
hide captions
switch captions
Rebecca Rosman
A crowd gathers in front of the Ibn Badis mosque, where mourners gather to pay their respects on Saturday in Nanterre, France.
Rebecca Rosman
NANTERRE, FRANCE – After four nights of anger and unrest, it’s time for the community to mourn one of their own.
Hundreds of people gathered in the western suburbs of Nanterre on Saturday to pay their last respects to Nahel M., a 17-year-old shot dead by the police after being stopped for a traffic violation.
The teenager’s death sparked protests and riots across the country – more than 1,300 people were arrested on Friday night alone.
But for residents of Nanterre, the working-class suburb of Paris where Nahel M. lived and died, the case was more personal.
Charine Ahmed, a 19-year-old student, told NPR that she knew the victim: “It’s different in your town.
“He’s an extremely happy boy, someone who is always smiling. I’ve never seen him in a bad mood.”
The mood outside the Ibn Badis mosque on Saturday, where hundreds of people came to mourn, was solemn but tense.
There were no police present, but there was plenty of security.
Dozens of mediators, who act as liaisons between the community and local officials, were hired to keep order and prevent anyone from filming or taking pictures. The mosque became so packed that at one point about 300 mourners flooded the streets for them to participate in public mourning prayers.
“Try to put yourself in this boy’s mother’s shoes,” said Catherine, a Nanterre resident who did not want to give her last name, begging for her safety. “I just can’t imagine…it could be any of our children.”
So who is Nahel M.?
A woman pays her respects at the site where Nahel M. died, shortly after his funeral, on Saturday in Nanterre, France.
Sam Tarling / Getty Images
hide captions
switch captions
Sam Tarling / Getty Images
A woman pays her respects at the site where Nahel M. died, shortly after his funeral, on Saturday in Nanterre, France.
Sam Tarling / Getty Images
Friends and family members describe him as an upbeat kid, passionate about rugby and excited about training to be an electrician.
He is very close to his mother, Mounia, a single mother of only one child.
He also has some law violations and is known to the police – but as locals insist – has no criminal record.
Some said they were disappointed by certain right-wing and far-right politicians, who they felt were taking advantage of the opportunity to try to tarnish the boy’s image.
“It’s like Nahel was killed twice,” said Nordine Iznasni, a community activist who has been a mainstay of Nanterre for decades. “First, with a bullet, then the second with a stain to his reputation.”
There was little talk of unrest during the week.
The remains of a burned car in Nanterre, France.
Rebecca Rosman
hide captions
switch captions
Rebecca Rosman
The remains of a burned car in Nanterre, France.
Rebecca Rosman
Although the city was cleaned up in the morning, images of the devastation are still on display. Many shops and cafes showed missing or broken windows, layers of molten plastic (once trash cans) covering the streets, and later the remains of many cars that had been burned to ashes.
The French government has deployed 45,000 police officers across the country to maintain order and French President Emmanuel Macron has canceled a state visit to Germany as the country prepares for unrest.
The government also issued a specific order urging young people to stay at home. Gérald Darmanin, France’s interior minister, said the average age of those arrested on Thursday was 17 – some as young as 13.
The majority of people NPR spoke to in Nanterre condemned any act of violence.
“But we understand why our kids are mad,” Catherine said. “They can’t help but think: What if it’s one of us next?”
