France footballers including captain Kylian Mbappe called for dialogue this Friday and said violence motivated by the “brutal death of young Nahel” on Tuesday at a police checkpoint must give way to dialogue.
“Like all French, we were shocked and appalled by the brutal death of young Nahel. […] Obviously, we cannot ignore the circumstances under which this unacceptable death took place, ”the statement read, in particular, on the Paris Saint-Germain player’s page on the social network Twitter.
The text notes that “after the tragic event” there is a “manifestation of popular anger.”
“We equally share these feelings of pain and sadness. But to this suffering is added the suffering of powerless observation of the true process of self-destruction. Violence doesn’t solve anything. […]. You are destroying your assets, your neighborhoods, your cities, your buildings and proximity,” they warn.
Led by Kylian Mbappe, the first to issue a statement on Twitter, the players say they cannot remain silent: “our civic conscience calls us to call for calm, awareness and responsibility.”
“The time of violence must end to give way to mourning, dialogue and restoration,” they conclude.
Nahel’s death, caused by the shooting of a traffic policeman on Tuesday, has reignited tensions between young people and police in France.
This Friday, for the third night in a row, the country is experiencing serious riots in many parts of the territory, resulting in at least 250 police officers injured, 875 arrests, a third of which were minors, attacks on 492 public buildings and arson of 2,000 cars. fire.
To avoid such episodes, French Prime Minister Elisabeth Born announced the deployment of paramilitary police armored vehicles, without specifying how many.
At an extraordinary meeting, the Minister of the Interior decided to extend the restriction on the movement of buses and trams throughout the country, which will not be able to operate from 21:00 local time (20:00 Lisbon) until the next morning. , until further notice.
The sale of firework rockets, gas cans, acids and other chemical and flammable products was also temporarily banned.
The death of Nahel, who will be buried on Saturday in the city of Nanterre, where he lived and where he was killed, shocked a large part of the country and provoked vigorous condemnation from leftist and social movements, considering that it was an act of racism.
Demonstrators attacked police and fire engines, as well as public buildings and shops, many of which were looted.