On June 27, 2023, French police shot and killed a teenager named Nahel M. in the working-class Parisian suburb of Nanterre. Anonymous police sources told French media that the 17-year-old tried to drive into them causing the police officer to use his firearm.

But a video of the incident circulating on social media showed the two officers standing by the driver’s side window and appearing to shoot Nahel as the vehicle began to move.

Protests and riots ensued for the next week, with local news outlets reporting that the average protester was only 17 years old — the same age as Nahel. The anger spread quickly around the country. There were riots in the suburbs of Paris, but also those near Lyon, Toulouse, Bordeaux, and Lille. Protests also took place in France’s overseas territories. Rioters burned cars, buses, police stations, town halls, schools, and libraries and aimed fireworks at riot police. Many involved in riots said they didn’t know Nahel but they could have just as easily been in his place.