Paris suburb riots: 'Uneasy calm after night of violence'
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00:00 Well, covering this story for us today is Clovis Casali. He's our reporter in Nanterre this afternoon.
00:05 Clovis, it's just gone two o'clock here in Paris.
00:09 Just give us a sense of what the atmosphere is like there this afternoon.
00:12 Well, first we're outside the Nanterre town hall and the mayor has given a press conference
00:24 where he said the town woke up shocked by what happened.
00:28 That this is a town of solidarity, that the spiraling violence needs to end,
00:31 but also that justice needs to be served.
00:35 And we went to the council estates where violent clashes took place last night following the news
00:41 of the death of 17-year-old Nael and I can tell you that uneasy calm is the best way to
00:46 summarize the atmosphere there.
00:48 We went to talk to some residents who told us no one will talk to you journalists.
00:53 People here, especially the youths, are extremely angry at what happened, angry and sad.
00:59 We spoke to people who knew the young Nael who told us this is not a drug dealer,
01:05 this is not a delinquent.
01:06 Yes, he had committed some minor offenses in the past,
01:10 that he definitely didn't deserve what happened to him.
01:14 That he was raised by a single mother who was very careful to make sure he would not
01:19 hang out at night in the neighborhood.
01:22 And the residents also told us that more violence can be expected in the coming evenings,
01:30 unless justice is served very quickly.
01:33 People here in this impoverished neighborhood of Paris in Nanterre feel left out by politicians.
01:40 Residents telling us politicians never come and see us and here we are again suffering
01:46 from police brutality with the death of 17-year-old Nael.
01:51 People here extremely angry and I can tell you also that in the areas where the
01:55 violence took place yesterday, those council estates we went to this morning,
02:00 you can see the scenes of destructions.
02:02 Many, many cars burned down, garbage bins set on fire and now completely destroyed of course.
02:09 And also bus shelters destroyed, glass scattered, shattered on the floor.
02:14 And disturbing scenes and residents here uneasy.
02:19 There's an uneasy calm in those council estates and very disappointed, sad and angry.
02:24 Well of course Clovis will keep a close eye on what happens this evening.
02:28 But looking at the footage itself, one thing that seems rather stark is what we appear to
02:34 learn from that video footage that has been independently verified and what the police say happened.
02:40 And that's what sparks even more anger in those council estates of Nanterre,
02:47 with police saying that Nael forced his way and put in danger the lives of these policemen who
02:54 acted according to them in legitimate self-defense.
02:57 That doesn't seem to be the case according to the footage that has leaked.
03:01 Footage described as shocking, disturbing by the interior minister himself,
03:06 Gérald Darmanin, who's often accused of being too pro-police, supporting police all the time.
03:11 Well this time he said the footage was disturbing.
03:15 President Emmanuel Macron saying similar words and that video circulating on social media.
03:21 Another video circulating on social media that people here in Nanterre are talking about
03:25 is that of the mother of Nael calling for a march tomorrow two o'clock here in Nanterre.
03:31 People, the residents we spoke to hope it will be a peaceful march with no clashes.
03:38 But the anger is very, very high here.
03:40 And a last few words on very big influential figures here.
03:45 Football superstar Kylian Mbappé tweeting this morning saying a little angel has gone
03:50 too soon, expressing his condolences, his grief,
03:53 his support for the family and so did a Hollywood star, French Hollywood star, Omar Sy.