In addition to the town of Nanterre to the west of Paris where he was raised, the murder of Nahel M, 17, has sparked riots in cities all over France.
He was an only child raised by his mother, a rugby league player, and a pizza delivery boy.
It was said that his education was disorganized. He had enrolled in a college in Suresnes, not far from his home, to pursue his interest in becoming an electrician.
He was well-liked in Nanterre, where he resided with his mother Mounia and who had reportedly never met his father, according to those who knew him.
His college attendance record wasn't great. Despite not having a criminal history, the police were aware of him.
Prior to her leaving for work, he gave his mother a hearty kiss while saying, "I love you, Mum.".
He was fatally shot in the chest, point-blank, while operating a Mercedes car during a police traffic check, shortly after nine in the morning.
The boy's mother questioned, "What am I going to do now?". She said, "I gave him everything. "I don't have 10 [children], I only have one.". His friendship and presence in my life were irreplaceable. ".
He was described by his grandmother as a "kind, good boy.".
Olivier Faure, the leader of the Socialist Party, said "a refusal to stop doesn't give you a license to kill.". "There is a right to justice for all the children of the Republic. ".
For the previous three years, Nahel had been a member of the rugby team, the Pirates of Nanterre. He had participated in a program called Ovale Citoyen's integration for teenagers who were having academic difficulties.
Nahel was pursuing an apprenticeship in electrical work as part of a program designed to place residents of underprivileged areas in jobs.
One of the local adults who knew him best was Ovale Citoyen president Jeff Puech. He mentioned a "kid who used rugby to get by" and that he had only recently seen him.
According to Mr. Puech, "He was not some kid whodealt drugs or got fun out of juvenile crime. He was someone who had the will to fit in socially and professionally.".
He praised the adolescent's "exemplary attitude," which was very different from the unfavorable portrait of him that had been painted on social media.
Before moving to the Pablo Picasso estate, Nahel had lived with his mother in Nanterre's Vieux-Pont neighborhood.
The fact that his family was of Algerian descent has not gone unnoticed. A banner bearing the words "May Allah grant him mercy" was flown over the Paris ring road in front of the Parc des Princes stadium.
One young man calling for justice for Nahel in another French city stated that "police violence happens every day, especially if you're Arab or black.".
Since 2021, Nahel had been the target of up to five so-called police checks. refusing to be obtuse. - failure to cooperate.
He had just been put in detention over the weekend for making such a refusal, and he was scheduled to go before a juvenile court in September. He recently got into a lot of auto-related trouble.
The riots that his death has sparked in France serve as a reminder of the incident in 2005, when Zyed Benna and Bouna Traoré, two teenagers, were electrocuted while escaping police after playing football and running into an electricity substation in the Paris suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois.
According to Mohammed, a teenager from Clichy, "It could have been me, it could have been my little brother."
