"There's so much anger," said Chakir, 21, a youth worker who had been awake until 5am on the streets of his estate in Roubaix, northern France, where more than 100 young people lit fireworks and thrown them at lines of riot police. They were protesting against police after the death of a 17-year-old boy, Nahel, of Algerian background, who was shot dead at close range by officers at a traffic stop in Nanterre, west of Paris, on Tuesday.
The killing, captured in a video that went viral online, has sparked successive nights of clashes with police on estates across France, and politicians feared that rioting would spread.
"The police are supposed to protect us," Chakir said. "But there's a feeling nothing is protecting us. I fear clashes will continue. Young people are trying to be heard in any way they can. Violence sparks more violence."
As more than 6,000 people gathered for a peaceful march for justice in Nanterre yesterday, crowds chanted "No justice, no peace" and "Everyone hates the police". Nahel's mother, Mounia, looked down at the crowd from an open-topped truck, attempting to fight back tears. At the end of the march, near the police headquarters, officers fired teargas and clashed with some protestors on the edge of the crowd. By late afternoon, several cars in Nanterre had been torched.
"We're marching peacefully against police racism," said Radia, a student in her 20s, who had travelled from Versailles. "We're constantly seeing Black and Arab people targeted by police. This is one death too many."
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