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On June 27, in Nanterre, a 17-year-old teenager, Nahel Merzouk, was —-coldly—- murdered* behind the wheel of his car, shot through the heart by a policeman. A viral video proves the crime: the killer did not act in self defense. The youth uprising spreads. Towns and cities flare up. It is difficult to analyze a popular uprising in the heat of the moment. Its medium- and long-term consequences are unpredictable. Reports, testimonies, and commentaries offer no explanation. At best, they fill the void left by the media. In 2022, 13 people were killed for disobeying a police order in France. Since February 2017, the conditions for police officers to use their firearms have been significantly relaxed. Since the adoption of this provision, fatal shootings of moving vehicles have increased fivefold. Article L 435-1 of the French internal security code authorizes police officers to fire their weapons if they are “unable to stop, other than by the use of weapons, vehicles, boats or other means of transport whose drivers fail to comply with an order to stop and whose occupants are likely to cause harm to their lives or physical integrity or those of others.” However, the police officer must act in a case of absolute necessity involving a threat to his life or that of others. The response must be strictly proportionate. Conditions that were not met on June 27. Nahel Merzouk’s murder is an inexpiable crime.
