Romain Rouillard (with Louis de Raguenel) / Photo credit: NICOLAS GUYONNET / HANS LUCAS / HANS LUCAS VIA AFP 18:50 pm, June 28, 2023

The young Nahel, 17, was killed this Tuesday morning by a police officer in Nanterre after trying to evade a traffic stop. Briefly educated in a high school in Suresnes, he practiced rugby league and was supervised by an association that promotes reintegration through sport in disadvantaged neighborhoods.

The drama has been arousing anger, emotion and indignation for a little more than 24 hours. This Tuesday morning, in Nanterre in the Hauts-de-Seine, a 17-year-old man was shot dead by a police officer after a refusal to comply. He was driving a rented sports car and had tried to evade the control of the police. His death was followed by a night of violence in Nanterre but also in several neighboring municipalities and even as far as Mantes-la-Jolie in the Yvelines where an annex of the town hall was burned. On Wednesday, President Emmanuel Macron called for appeasement and assured that "nothing [justified] the death of a young person".

Chaotic schooling

A teenager who, according to information from Europe 1, was already known to the justice services for 15 mentions in the criminal record file. He had been arrested five times for refusing to comply between 2021 and 2023. The last episode dates back to last weekend when he was taken into custody. In the past, he had also had trouble with the police and the judiciary for common law offences. On the set of C à vous on France 5, the lawyers of Nahel's family confirmed that the young man was known to the justice services but assured that the criminal record of the young man was clean.

>>

READ ALSO – Refusal to comply: in what context can the police open fire?

At the same time, Nahel's schooling was chaotic, to say the least. As confirmed by the establishment to Europe 1, the teenager had been briefly schooled at the Louis-Blériot high school in Suresnes a few minutes from his home. He attended classes there for a few months before dropping out. According to Le Parisien, Nahel was an only son and lived with his mother in the Vieux-Pont district of Nanterre. The latter has also called for a white march Thursday at 14 p.m. in front of the prefecture of Hauts-de-Seine, near the scene of the fatal shooting.

@perkutmedia #Nael's mother speaks. ♬ #Nanterre original sound - PerkutMedia

Rugby league players

The teenager also practiced rugby league within the Pirates of Nanterre, as confirmed to Europe 1 Jeff Puech, president of the association Ovale Citoyen which accompanied this associative structure. "We set up sports sessions unconditionally and free of charge for young people in the neighborhood, people coming out of prison, refugees, the LGBT community etc. And behind, we offer them professional integration, "says Jeff Puech. On Facebook, the club says it wants to remain silent and "leave it to justice to do its job".

>>

READ ALSO – Death of Nahel after a refusal to comply: 24 hours later, the government advocates appeasement

In the columns of the Parisian, Jeff Puech describes a teenager "who had the will to integrate socially and professionally, not a kid who lived on the deal or indulged in petty crime" and praises the attitude "always exemplary" of the young man.

Although dead, Nahel is under investigation for refusal to comply and attempted homicide of police officers. This is why the family's lawyers decided to file a complaint against the Nanterre prosecutor's office for "forgery in public writing", considering that the police were not facing the slightest danger. Another complaint, this time against the police officer charged with intentional homicide, was also filed.