SEE: French PM's plans for stopping riots after summer upheaval
Widespread disorder followed the shooting of an unarmed teenager in June
Many shops, like this Nike store in Paris, were looted during the riots that followed the shooting of Nahel Merzouk in JuneVernerie Yann / Shutterstock
Richard HenshellRichardHenshell
PublishedModified
An action plan to address the riots that followed the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Nahel Merzouk by a police officer in June has been unveiled.
Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne says she hopes the measures announced on Thursday (October 26) will “assist and accompany“ affected communes.
The riots followed the shooting of the unarmed teenager at a police traffic stop in Nanterre (Ile-de-France) on June 27.
Cars were burned, buildings set alight, fireworks thrown at police, and shops looted for several days in some communes.
Thierry Falconnet, the mayor of Chenôve (Côte-d'Or), whose town hall was burned down by rioters, told France 3 the measures were lacking.
“It is a mixed bag of reactionary and repressive measures. Some of them go in the right direction, but more social measures are needed to balance it,” he said.
Others are even more sceptical.
“They’re trying to dupe mayors asking for security guarantees, and to dupe them with something that I doubt would even work,” Senator Patrick Kanner told Public Sénat.
