PSG star and France captain Kylian Mbappe has called for an end to the country’s violent demonstrations following the death shooting of a youngster by police. Unrest has erupted across the country, notably in Marseille, Lyon, Toulouse, Strasbourg, and Lille, as well as in Paris, where Nahel M, a 17-year-old of Algerian and Moroccan heritage, was shot on Tuesday in the Nanterre neighbourhood.
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Mbappe turned to social media on Friday to beg for calm on behalf of the French national squad.
“Like all French people, we were marked and shocked by the brutal death of young Nahel,” he wrote. “Firstly, our thoughts go out to him and his family to whom we extend our sincere condolences.“
On Tuesday, a 17-year-old kid identified simply as ‘Nahel M’ was shot at a traffic stop in the Parisian district of Nanterre. The assassination sparked nights of protests around the capital and across France, many of which devolved into violent battles with police and damage and looting of shops. Protests have continued despite the fact that the cop in question was arrested and charged with voluntary murder on Thursday.
“Obviously, we cannot remain insensitive to the circumstances in which this unacceptable death has taken place.”
“Since this tragic event, we have been witnessing the expression of popular anger whose essence we understand, but whose form we cannot endorse.”
“With many of us coming from working-class neighborhoods, these feelings of pain and sadness, we also share them.”
Mbappe, who grew up in the Paris suburb of Bondy, expressed his heartbreak at what he called a “unacceptable situation” on Wednesday, but given the escalation that has forced the French government to deploy 45,000 police officers, a call for calm from someone as influential as Mbappe will be welcomed by authorities.
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Despite this, there was additional turbulence on Friday night, notably in Lyon and Marseille. Mbappe and the government will be hoping that his speech helps calm things down over the weekend.
“But to this suffering is added that of assisting powerless to a real process of self-destruction. “Violence solves nothing, even less when it inevitably and tirelessly turns against those who express it, their families, loved ones and neighbours.” he added.
The statement concluded with a plea: “The time of violence must end to make way to that of mourning, dialogue and reconstruction.”
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