France police shooting: Victim's family organise 'silent march' in Nanterre

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Transcript
00:00 Well, let's go now then to the suburb of Nanterre here in Paris, where Nahal was killed and thus
00:05 the epicentre of the protests last night. Now, this afternoon, his family are leading a march
00:12 in his honour and our reporter Clovis Casale is there. He joins me on the programme. Clovis,
00:17 how big does this march appear to be this afternoon?
00:20 Well, there are certainly thousands of people now on the streets of Nanterre.
00:26 You can probably hear the crowds behind me chanting "Police assassins, police assassins"
00:32 and holding banners reading "Police kills". We're very close to the truck where Nahal's mother
00:40 is standing with her fist up in the air calling for justice, justice for her son.
00:45 That's one of the other slogans we've been hearing today. The march is for the time being
00:50 peaceful. It's pretty impressive to see so many people gathered here for this event, leaving from
00:57 the... That's the name of the council estate where a lot of the violence took place last night.
01:04 We left that council estate and are now walking towards the Prefecture, the building of the local
01:10 authority, where these thousands of people will be gathered. You can also feel the anger in the
01:16 air. You can feel how furious people are after the death of Nahal, aged 17, killed when a 38-year-old
01:27 police officer shot at him. That police officer now in custody. The people here are
01:33 furious at the situation and calling for justice.
01:37 Well, you say you can feel the anger, Clovis. Just tell us what residents are saying to you
01:44 about why they have joined this march today.
01:47 Well, during the clashes last night and the night before, it's mostly you who took to the streets
01:52 and in some council estates, people who knew Nahal personally, friends of his. We met some of
02:00 them who told us that they didn't want to speak on camera, that they said that they just were
02:05 victim of police brutality just too often and a lack of respect from police forces. We also spoke
02:11 to older residents, shopkeepers, restaurant owners, who told us something needs to change.
02:16 They don't agree with the violence that they say. They can't speak to the youth. They're just
02:24 uncontrollable for the time being. But of course, people here in Nanterre are also disappointed by
02:30 the way police have been acting recently, and they're asking for justice. The French government
02:36 has reacted and said that justice would be served quickly. And I think that the fact that
02:41 the police officer who killed the young man is in custody is a first step for them,
02:48 a first answer that they probably want more. And as we speak, I can see the track truck with the
02:54 mother of Nahal and the crowds, huge crowds around her, cheering, showing their support.
03:00 This moment is also to honour the memory of Nahal, 17-year-old, who was raised by a single mum,
03:06 and who's now killed by a police officer, sparking all of this movement and the clashes over the
03:14 last couple of nights. All right, Clivus Casali for us there in Nanterre. Thank you very much
03:18 indeed for that update.

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