Global Courant
A fundraiser for a French police officer who shot and killed a 17-year-old has raised more than $1 million as protests continue to rage across the country.
The GoFundMe for the officer had raised more than $1.4 million by Monday night. The page is hosted by Jean Messiha, a former adviser to French far-right politician Marine Le Pen.
She wrote that the page was for the officer, “who has done his job and is now paying a high price”.
The family of the murdered teen, Nahel Merzouk, has also started a similar fundraiser, which failed to raise as much in donations as early as $220,000 by Monday morning, The Independent reported.
ARRESTS PLUMMED ON 6TH NIGHT OF FRANCE ROOTS AS MINISTER OF INTERNAL DOMESTIC PARENTS CRACKS FOR LEADING CHILDREN TO PROTEST
Firefighters extinguish burning vehicles during clashes between protesters and police, following the death of Nahel Merzouk, in the Parisian suburb of Nanterre, France. (Reuters/Stephanie Lecocq)
“It is insulting to Merzouk’s family,” French lawyer Carole-Olivia Monteno told reporters. “It just increases the hatred where there is already too much of it. It’s completely inappropriate and politically it doesn’t do anything.”
The officer involved in the murder has been charged with murder and is being held without bail.
Merzouk was working as a delivery driver when he was shot dead during a traffic check last week. The death sparked mass protests and riots across France.
France’s interior ministry said there were 5,662 vehicle fires and more than 1,000 buildings damaged.
The mother of murdered 17-year-old Nahel shouts “Justice for Nahel” ahead of a June 29 march in Nanterre, outside Paris. Nahel’s murder during a traffic stop Tuesday, captured on video, shocked the country and sparked long-simmering tensions between youths and police in housing projects and other deprived neighborhoods in France. (AP)
In addition, police have made more than 3,300 arrests, many in Paris alone. The average age of the detainees is 17 years.
Meanwhile, there have been at least 254 attacks on law enforcement buildings that have injured more than 720 personnel, the report said. More than 1,000 buildings were set on fire or damaged during the unrest.
French President Emmanuel Macron has called on parents of teenagers involved in the violence to take responsibility for their children’s actions during the riots.
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On Sunday, Merzouk’s grandmother, identified only as Nadia, urged protesters to keep calm.
Police officers walk into an anti-police demonstration in Marseille, southern France, on Saturday following a fourth consecutive night of rioting in France over the murder of a teenager by police.
“I tell them to stop,” she told reporters. “Don’t destroy the schools, don’t destroy the buses. We want things to settle down.”
Fox News’ Bradford Betz contributed to this report.
