Riots broke out overnight in the western French city of Nantes after police shot and killed a 22-year-old immigrant at a traffic stop:
Riots broke out in Nantes, France after a 22-year-old man whose parents had immigrated from Guinea was fatally shot by police during a traffic stop. pic.twitter.com/PZqTytABAb
— AJ+ (@ajplus) July 5, 2018
Rioters burned cars and smashed bus shelters and store windows in response to the death:
Burned-out cars, smashed bus shelters and shattered store fronts: a recurrent symbol of France’s struggles with policing immigrant neighborhoods unfolded after a man was shot and killed by the police during a traffic stop https://t.co/StDCrjyXbO
— New York Times World (@nytimesworld) July 5, 2018
According to reports, the incident occurred during an identity check:
The city of Nantes in France is calling for calm after clashes between riot police and protesters. Tensions peaked after police shot dead a 22-year old driver trying to avoid an identity check #tictocnews pic.twitter.com/v6EMkDv9Oh
— TicToc by Bloomberg (@tictoc) July 5, 2018
More from the New York Times:
It was there that the riot police pulled over a 22-year-old man acquaintances identified as Aboubakar, the son of immigrants from Guinea, during a traffic stop Tuesday night. (The authorities did not name him.)
The accounts of residents and the officers differ, but one thing was certain: The young man was shot in the neck and died before he made it to the hospital.
Police shootings are rare in France compared with the United States, and when they occur the investigative machinery of the French state is mobilized. On Tuesday evening, the mayor of Nantes, Johanna Rolland, a Socialist, called for “total transparency over what has happened tonight,” and extended her sympathies to the family of the slain man.
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