Two years after the murder of Nahel Merzouk by the police, UCL reaffirms
its support for all victims of police violence and state racism. On themorning of June 27, 2023, Nahel Merzouk, a 17-year-old living in
Nanterre, was cowardly shot at point-blank range by a police officer
during a traffic stop. While Nahel was stopped, he tried to flee after
receiving death threats from the officer, who was already pointing his
gun at him. There were also two passengers in the car, aged 14 and 17,
who were traumatized but alive.
As always happens in these murders, the police and the media sought,
without foundation, to portray Nahel as a dangerous, repeat offender
with a lengthy criminal record. They claimed the police officers were
acting in self-defense, which witnesses and cameras refuted, as in many
other cases. Even if Nahel had been the repeat offender they described,
that in no way would have justified this cold-blooded murder.
His death sparked riots in many working-class neighborhoods in France,
Belgium, and Switzerland, as well as several days of demonstrations and
actions against police violence and state racism.
Police killings figures
From the beginning of 2020 until June 27, 2023, no fewer than 21 people
were killed by the police for the so-called "refusal to comply" (source:
Politis, July 5, 2023). These include Olivio, Nathalie, Souheil,
Boubacar, Rayana, Omar... And Nahel Merzouk, who completes this grim
list. It should be noted that between 2002 and 2017, 17 people were
killed as a result of refusing to comply, compared to 32 between 2017
and 2023.
This surge in the number of deaths is due to the February 2017 law that
amended the framework for police self-defense by allowing them to shoot
at moving vehicles. This law was sought and passed by the Socialist
Party, which was then in power.
This law is part of an arsenal of racist and discriminatory laws,
primarily targeting young people from North African and African
backgrounds who live in working-class neighborhoods. It is therefore
more than urgent to radically criticize the national police, this racist
and colonial institution, corrupted by the far right, which terrorizes a
large segment of the population with complete impunity.
Organize Against State Racism
State racism, which makes people believe that these murders are the
individual responsibility of "bad cops," must compel us to react because
it is the state as a whole that organizes this racism on a large scale.
This racism allows for the continued exploitation of a segment of the
population, their assignment to the most socially devalued activities
and jobs (cleaning, bicycle delivery, so-called "unskilled" jobs,
temporary work) on precarious contracts, with unskilled hours, and for
poverty wages. Racist media hype also allows the ruling political class
to obscure social issues such as purchasing power, the climate and
social crisis, Western colonialism, education, and the healthcare system.
In the current repressive context, we must never give up and continue to
demand the disarmament of the police, the repeal of repressive and
deadly laws, and justice and truth for the victims of police violence
and crimes, with a special thought for the families who have experienced
these traumas and with whom we will remain mobilized.
For Nahel Merzouk, Malik Oussekine, Zyed Benna and Bouna Traoré, Adama
Traoré, Rémi Fraisse, Cédric Chouviat, Steve Maia Caniço, Georges Floyd,
and so many others...
NO JUSTICE, NO PEACE
Libertarian Communist Union, July 6, 2025
https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Nahel-Merzouk-deux-ans-apres-on-oublie-pas-on-pardonne-pas
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