By Natalia Rueda 
France has been rocked by a wave of protests after a police officer shot and killed a 17-year-old boy near Paris last week, enforcing a ban on demonstrations in some cities, issuing travel warnings, and reigniting a debate over excessive surveillance in marginalized communities.
Protesters have taken to the streets and clashed with riot police, with scenes of cars set on fire and buildings damaged emerging in several cities. In response to the crisis, French President Emmanuel Macron held an emergency meeting with ministers while trying to address the divisions and unite the country in his second term.
The unrest was sparked after the fatal shooting of Nahel, an Algerian teenager, during a traffic stop in Nanterre, a suburban Paris town. Witnesses say that even though Nahel did not appear to pose any immediate threat, a police officer fired his weapon.
The officer has been placed in preliminary detention and will face an investigation for “voluntary manslaughter.”
The anger over Nahel’s death is spurring protests with many carrying signs that say “Police kill” and some government buildings being damaged due to the mistrust over racial prejudice. In order to quell the unrest, the French authorities have mobilized over 40,000 police officers to patrol cities and towns across the country. Since the incident, more than 2,000 people have been arrested and 500 police officers and gendarmes injured.
In response to the ongoing protests, Macron has banned “large-scale events” and “celebratory gatherings”. He urged parents to keep their children at home and reiterated that many of those detained during the demonstrations are young.
While Macron has expressed his wish to heal the country and restart his presidency, the protests and violence across France and its overseas territories have dampened his efforts. The French government is taking steps to prevent a repeat of the riots that occurred in 2005, when two teenagers were killed in police custody.
It has not gone unnoticed that the French president attended an Elton John concert as the country was experiencing unrest. He left a meeting at a European Council summit in Brussels early to attend to the situation back home. The situation will continue to be closely monitored as Macron attempts to control the nationwide protests and heal the divided nation.