French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday called the shooting dead of a 17-year-old by police during a traffic stop near Paris "inexcusable" in rare criticism of law enforcement hours after the incident triggered unrest.
A police officer is being investigated for voluntary homicide for shooting the youth, who was of North African origin. Prosecutors say he failed to comply with an order to stop his car early on Monday.
The interior ministry called for calm after at least 31 were arrested in overnight clashes, mainly in the Paris suburb of Nanterre where the victim lived, with youths burning cars and shooting fireworks at police, who sprayed people with tear gas.
Rights groups allege systemic racism inside law enforcement agencies in France, a charge Macron has previously denied.
There were three such killings in 2021 and two in 2020, according to a Reuters tally, which shows the majority of victims since 2017 were Black or of Arab origin.
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