The grandmother of a boy killed by police during Operation STOP in a Paris suburb said Sunday she wants the nationwide riots sparked by the teenager’s death to end.
Nadia told French media that the rioters were using 17-year-old Nahel’s death as an excuse to wreak havoc and that the family wanted peace. “To the people who are breaking things, I say to them: stop it, stop it. They are doing this as an excuse with Nahel – no, people have to stop!”, Nadia told BFM television in an audio interview quoted by Reuters. “Nahal is dead. My daughter is lost… She has no life left”, he added.
Interior Minister Gérald Dormanin said the latest night of rioting was minimal after 45,000 police were deployed to Nahal’s funeral in the Paris suburb of Nanterre on Saturday.
Since Nahel was shot on Tuesday, rioters have set fire to cars and looted shops, but have also attacked government institutions such as town halls and police stations. The home of the mayor of L’Hay-les-Roses, near Paris, was hit as his wife and children slept.
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