French crowd unites in support of mayor after violent attack

This Monday (03), a crowd of French people gathered to support the mayor who had his house invaded by a burning car, amid protests against the death of a teenager by police.

Protests in France have been growing and violent after 17-year-old Namel Merzouk was shot dead at close range by police. These population revolts, however, intensified last Sunday (02), when the house of the mayor of Paris was attacked with a car, which soon caught fire.

Mayor Vincent Jeanbrun, who classified what happened as “an assassination attempt” was in the city hall at the time of the attack, while his wife and children were at home.

Jeanbrun reported that, in trying to protect himself from the fire and escape the scene, his wife and one of the children were injured.

_{Vicent Jeanbrun’s residence after the attack (Photo: reproduction/NewsInFrance)}

Violence against the mayor and his family, however, was not accepted by the residents of Paris. This Monday (03), thousands of people marched in support of the president, in L’Haÿ-les-Roses, a suburb of Paris – the same place of the attack on Jeanbrun’s house.

At the demonstration, while Vicent Jeanbrun thanked the supporters and stated: “More than ever, our republic and its servants are threatened and attacked”, Paris residents carried a banner that read: “Together for the republic!”.

panorama of protests

The French revolts, which began with the murder of Namel Merzouk and are now in their second week, question policing in marginalized communities in France and the possible prejudice in the death of the young man, since he had Algerian ancestry (country in Africa).

So far, the officer responsible for Merzouk’s murder has been arrested and charged with voluntary manslaughter. According to a source to CNN, the president of France, Emmanuel Macron, is devising an operation to better understand the cause of the violent demonstrations that hit the country.

Featured photo: March in support of Vincent Jeanbrun. Reproduction/AFP