France braced for more angry protests today after the killing of a teenager by police during a traffic stop that President Emmanuel Macron called “unforgivable”.
The government said it would deploy 2,000 riot police to deal with any unrest, a day after a 17-year-old was shot in the chest by a police officer who then appeared to lie about the circumstances of the killing.
The shooting had already sparked unrest in several Paris suburbs overnight.
Celebrities and politicians expressed outrage and grief at the death of the teenager while President Macron called it “inexplicable” and “unforgivable”.
France’s National Assembly observed a minute of silence for the teenager this afternoon.
The 38-year-old policeman filmed firing the lethal shot was taken into custody and is under investigation for voluntary manslaughter.
His custody was extended today according to judicial sources said, but he did not appear to have been charged.