Riots began in France on 27 June 2023 after the killing of Nahel Merzouk by a police officer in Nanterre. Merzouk was a 17-year-old French youth of Moroccan and Algerian descent who worked as a pizza delivery boy. He was driving a car and was stopped after being chased. He was shot at close range in the car. A video of the shooting was seen by many people. The traffic police officer said “I’m going to lodge a bullet in your head.” What the video showed was not what the police said had happened. The police officer was arrested.
French President Emmanuel Macron declared the incident "inexcusable and unforgivable", adding that it "moved the entire nation".
Nahel's mother called for a "White March" in memory of her son in Nanterre. In Nanterre rioters threw things at police, let off fireworks, and set cars, bus shelters, rubbish bins, and a school on fire on 27 June after they had seen the video. From 28 June to 3 July there were riots all over Paris and in many other French cities. There were demonstrations in Belgium and in most of the overseas departments of France.
30 June, the two largest police unions, Alliance Police nationale and the UNSA union, released a statement declaring they were “at war” with “vermin” and “savage hordes” and threaten politicians openly: ″Tomorrow we will be in the resistance and the government should be aware of that.″.
Buying fireworks for Bastille Day was banned as a result of the riots.
Immigrants in France are poorer than people born in the country. More of them are unemployed. Black people in Paris are six times more likely to be stopped by the police than white people. Immigrant communities are concentrated in the banlieues, estates full of poor people. French law says that it is not allowed to collect information about people's race. Racial tension in France seems to be worse than in other developed countries and commentators think that is why the riots happened.