For the past few days, Paris has been engulfed in mass unrest, as people all over the country demonstrate against the murder of Nahel Merzouk by the French police. This callous act of racist brutality shocked French society, which is now rising up against its criminal police force and the violence it carries out with complete impunity. Here we publish a statement from the Francophone Anarchist Federation, who are fighting for truth and justice alongside their compatriots in the streets.
On Tuesday 27 June 2023, at around 8am in Nanterre, the police shot dead a 17-year-old kid during a "traffic stop". With his gun pointed at Nahel, one cop said "You're going to get a bullet in the head", the other cop said "Shoot him", and a few seconds later, as he was in no danger whatsoever, the policeman coldly shot him at point-blank range. It was a summary execution.
We offer our full support and condolences to his family and friends.
This police killing was neither a blunder nor an isolated case. In 2022 alone, 13 people were killed while "refusing to comply". The police kill and the justice system is complicit. The suburbs are veritable laboratories for state violence and outright racism, where people live under the constant watch of the police, who indulge in the worst acts with complete impunity.
Throughout the day, Nahel was smeared with hatred, contempt and lies. The police unions congratulated the cop on his shooting, while the far-right and the state fabricated a criminal record for Nahel and went so far as to say that the only people responsible for his death were his parents, who had "failed to educate him". A cop arriving at the scene of the murder even said to a woman, "Go back to Africa", after they had just killed a kid.
More than ever, support the popular uprisings! Abolishing the police is a necessity!
We call on you to join all the rallies of support and spontaneous demonstrations against racism and police crime!
Let's demand justice and truth for Nahel.
-Fédération anarchiste
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