Donations for French policeman who sparked riots top $900,000

PARIS: A collection for a French policeman who sparked nationwide riots last week by shooting a teenager dead during a traffic stop reached more than 850,000 euros ($924,000) on Monday morning.

Just under 40,000 people had made donations to the online fund set up on the website Gofundme.com by a far-right media commentator.

The collection easily outstripped another one for the family of the dead 17-year-old, Nahel M.

Nahel’s grandmother said she was “heartbroken” by the support shown for the police officer when she was asked about it on Sunday.

“He took the life of my grandson. This man must pay, the same as everyone,” she told the BFM channel. “I have confidence in the justice system. I believe in justice.”

Several politicians from the centrist ruling party and the left wing condemned the collection launched by far-right commentator Jean Messiha, who is close to anti-Islam politician Eric Zemmour.

“Jean Messiha is playing with fire,” ruling party MP Eric Bothorel wrote on Twitter, calling it “indecent and scandalous”.

The head of the Socialist party, Olivier Faure, addressed a message to Gofundme, saying they were facilitating a “shameful” collection.

Senior hard-left MP Mathilde Panot highlighted how a collection for a former boxer who had punched several police officers during “Yellow Vest” anti-government demonstrations in 2019 had been quickly closed by authorities.

“Killing a young North African, in France in 2023, can earn you a lot of money,” she wrote.

Nahel was of Algerian origin.

The fund had reached 853,000 euros by Monday morning, with 37,874 people having contributed money. The biggest individual donation was 3,000 euros.

The policeman, named in French media as Florian M., has been detained and charged with voluntary manslaughter.

In a video of the shooting, he can be seen with a colleague stopping a Mercedes which Nahel was driving without a licence in the western Paris suburb of Nanterre on Tuesday morning.

The officer has his weapon drawn and shoots Nahel at point-blank range as the car drives off.

Another teenager in the car told media after that the officers also hit Nahel with the butts of their guns before firing.