An “insulting” crowdfunding appeal set up for the French policeman who shot Nahel M, leading to six successive nights of violent protests, has raised €1 million – five times that collected for the family of the 17-year-old he killed.
The widely criticised appeal was set up by Jean Messiha, a member of far-right political party National Rally and former adviser to Marine Le Pen.
The 52-year-old Egyptian-born French economist is a friend of Eric Zemmour, who stood as a right-wing candidate in France's recent election.
The page says: “Support for the family of the Nanterre policeman, Florian M, who has done his job and is now paying a high price.
“Support him MASSIVELY and support our law enforcement!”
Around 53,000 people had made donations to the online fund, which stood at €1.05 million as of Monday afternoon.
The grandmother of Nahel, who was of Algerian descent, said she was “heart-broken” to learn about the fundraiser for the policeman when asked about it on Sunday. One for Nahel’s mother raised €200,000.
“He took the life of my grandson. This man must pay, the same as everyone,” she told BFM TV.
“I have confidence in the justice system. I believe in justice.”
A separate fundraiser run by the officer's colleagues has raised more than €50,000.
Laurent Nunez, prefect of Paris Police, refused to comment on Mr Messiha’s appeal.
But it has drawn criticism from many others, including criminal lawyer Carole-Olivia Monteno.
She told BFM TV: “It’s insulting to Nahel's family, it only increases hate where there's too much of it already, its completely inappropriate and politically it does nothing.”
Justice Minister Eric Dupond Moretti says the fundraiser “does not go in the direction of appeasement” and warned against its “instrumentalisation”.
David Guiraud, of left-wing party France Insoumise, said: “It sends the message that if you kill an Arab you'll become a millionaire.”
“Jean Messiha is playing with fire,” ruling party MP Eric Bothorel wrote on Twitter, calling it “indecent and scandalous”.
France riots – in pictures
The head of the Socialist party, Olivier Faure, addressed a message to the fundraising site, saying it was were facilitating a “shameful” collection.
Eric Ciotti, leader of the Republicans, said a fundraiser for the police's family was not “not against the [party's] principle”, but the one set up by Mr Messiha “is probably not healthy”.
Mr Messiha has railed against “lefty collaborators” on Twitter and media interviews.
Ongoing violence
Overnight a fireman died outside Paris trying to douse vehicles set ablaze during riots, the country's Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on Monday.
The incident occurred on the sixth night of violence following Nahel's death.
Over the weekend protesters rammed a car into the home of a Paris mayor, injuring his wife and one of his children.
But tensions appeared to have eased in recent days, with just 157 arrests as of 1.30am on Monday, down from a peak of 3,880 on Friday night.
Police initially reported that the officer shot at the teenager, who was of North African descent, at point-blank range on Tuesday because he was driving his car at him.
But a video that emerged on social media shows two policemen standing by the side of the stationary car, with one pointing a weapon at the driver. A voice is heard saying “You are going to get a bullet in the head.”
The police officer then appears to fire at point-blank range as the car drives off.
The car travels a few dozen metres before crashing.
The Nanterre prosecutor, Pascal Prache, said officers tried to stop Nahel because he looked “so young” and was spotted driving a Mercedes with Polish licence plates in a bus lane at 7.55am.
He allegedly ran a red light to avoid being stopped then got stuck in traffic. Both officers involved said they drew their guns to prevent him from fleeing.
The officer, who fired a single shot, said he had feared he and his colleague or someone else could be hit by the car, said the prosecutor. The officers said they felt “threatened” as the car drove off.
Another teenager in the car told media after that the officers also hit Nahel with the butts of their guns before firing.
The prosecutor said Nahel had previously failing to comply with traffic stop orders and was illegally driving a rental car.
The policeman, who is married with a child, has been charged with voluntary homicide and is being held in preventive detention.
Nahel was buried on Saturday near Nanterre, the Paris suburb where he lived and was shot dead.
Nahel's mother spoke about her grief in a video on TikTok, calling Nahel her baby and saying the pair had left the house at the same time. He was going to McDonald’s and she went to work.
“He was still a child – he needed his mother. This morning he gave me a big kiss and told me he loved me. I told him be careful and I loved him.
“I only had him. I didn't have 10 like him. He was my life, my best friend. He was my son, he was my everything.”
She told the France 5 channel: “I don't blame the police, I blame one person: the one who took the life of my son.”
She said the officer responsible “saw an Arab face, a little kid, and wanted to take his life”.
On Friday, the UN said France must address deep issues of racial discrimination among its police.
“We are concerned by the killing of a 17-year-old of North African descent by police in France … this is a moment for the country to seriously address the deep issues of racism and racial discrimination in law enforcement,” UN human rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told a media briefing in Geneva.
