Prosecutors have begun piecing together what happened just before the fatal shooting of Nahel M.

Around 08:00 on Tuesday, two policemen on motorcycles spotted a Mercedes driving fast in a bus lane, Nanterre prosecutor Pascal Prache told journalists.

Turning on their sirens, the officers caught up with the car at a traffic light. Three young men were inside.

The officers told the driver to stop. But the vehicle pulled away, ignoring the red light. The officers gave chase.

At 08:16, the Mercedes stopped in traffic. Both officers got off their motorcycles, drew their weapons and approached the car.

They later told prosecutors that they pointed their guns at the teenage driver to "deter him from driving away again".

The policemen asked the him to turn off the ignition, but the car moved forward. One of the officers fired, fatally wounding the young man in the chest.

What we know about teen's shooting by police

Image source, Reuters

After four days of unrest across France, major events are being cancelled around the country.

The biggest one is the Friday and Saturday concerts of French singer Mylène Farmer at the Stade de France, in a northern suburb of Paris. Despite the people camping in front of the venue for days to get the best spot, the concerts are not going ahead.

Marseille was preparing for its Pride march today, after many other big cities had it in previous weeks, but that has also been postponed.

French chain store Fnac was ready for the final night of its "Fnac Live Paris" festival, but that was cancelled, too.

The school districts of Versailles, Paris and Créteil called on school heads to postpone or cancel planned end-of-year school festivities.

We could expect more cancellations as President Macron announced yesterday that "the decision has been taken to cancel several festive events and gatherings in the most sensitive departments", without specifying which events were involved.

Macron has cancelled his visit to Germany, which had been due to start tomorrow.

Image source, EPA

Four nights of rioting, 45,000 police mobilised, curfews declared in several towns and over 2,300 arrests. It's been a long week in France - but how did we get here?

Tuesday:

• Nahel M, a 17-year-old from Nanterre, a suburb of Paris, is shot dead by police during a traffic check
• Once footage of the incident appears on social media, protests begin
• 1,200 police are deployed

Wednesday:

• Protesters target public buildings and set vehicles on fire
• The authorities announce they will deploy more than 9,000 police to face the growing unrest

Thursday

• The officer who shot Nahel was arrested and charged with voluntary homicide
• Nahel's mother, Mounia, leads a march in memory of her son. More than 6,000 people are thought to be in attendance
• Tensions culminate into riots across France. Looting is reported in several cities

Friday

• President Macron holds a crisis unit meeting and promised to use more resources to tackle the unrest
• Events are cancelled France, curfews are implemented and public transport closes early
• The authorities deploy 45,000 police

Saturday

• France wakes a up to more damage and looting
• The authorities announce more than 1,300 arrests were made overnight

In a video released three days after the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Nahel M, a passenger in the car has given his own version of what happened.

French news outlet BMFTV says it has authenticated the video - and newspaper Le Parisien has interviewed the passenger, in which he gives an account that matches the one in the video.

The unnamed passenger says he and two friends were driving around Nanterre when the car strayed into the bus lane and was chased by two policemen on motorcycles.

After Nahel stopped the car, police officers struck him three times with the butt of their guns, the witness claims.

The third blow caused Nahel to take his foot of the brake and the vehicle to move forward, the passenger claims. The officer then fired.

The BBC has not verified the authenticity of the account.

Insaf Abbas
Reporting from Nanterre

I've just been to visit the Pablo Picasso district in Nanterre, where Nahel lived.

There are burned out cars lining the streets - remnants of the protests that have taken place over the past few nights.

Most people living here are of African and Arab descent. Many are Muslim, though it's a mixed community - one woman handed me a leaflet inviting me to her church.

And while residents are continuing about their day - having coffee and going shopping - there's a real sense of tension in the air.

I speak to a young black woman who lives close by. She doesn't want to use her name because she's worried about her safety.

"At night we hear the sound of big explosions," she tells me. "It's scary."

She understands the pain and anger that protesters feel, and believes that police unfairly target ethnic minorities, but doesn't agree with the use of violence.

"They're destroying properties and damaging lives. They don't know it yet, but they're damaging the future. We will have to pay to repair this stuff", she says.

At Nahel’s funeral, the coffin has been taken out of the mosque and loaded into a hearse, reports Le Monde.

There are still thousands of people in Nanterre and the crowd has apparently been shouting: “Justice for Nahel.”

The newspaper adds that the hearse is being escorted by young people on scooters and that there have been arguments over people filming the event on their phones.

Image source, Getty Images

The mayor of Lyon, Grégory Doucet, earlier called for extra national police to be sent to the southern city to ensure security tonight.

Now, according to French media, the country’s interior ministry has confirmed it will send a police unit called CRS 8, comprising 60 officers specialising in violence in urban areas.

As we reported earlier, Lyon was one of the hot spots in last night's riots, with reports that 35 officers were injured and that eight public buildings were attacked, including a police station.

Image source, AFP

More now on President Macron’s cancelled visit to Germany.

It was due to be the first state visit to Germany by a French president in 23 years, and was scheduled to last from tomorrow until Tuesday.

The German Presidency announced that “French President Macron spoke on the phone today with German President [Frank-Walter] Steinmeier and updated him on the situation in his country. President Macron has requested the postponement of his planned state visit to Germany."

Steinmeier “regrets the cancellation and fully understands the situation in our neighbouring country,” said the statement.

No new date for the trip has been agreed yet.

French President Emmanuel Macron is postponing his scheduled visit to Germany as a result of unrest in France.

Le Monde has more from Nanterre, where Nahel's funeral is being held.

The Muslim prayer for the dead is taking place in the Ibn Badis mosque. It is very crowded, the newspaper says, adding that not everyone has been able to get inside the building. City authorities have set up barriers to channel the crowd.

Le Monde also reports that several onlookers are standing near the mosque.

Nahel's family's lawyers had asked the media to stay away.

How do deaths involving police in France compare with other countries?published at 13:20 British Summer Time 1 July 2023

13:20 BST 1 July 2023

In 2021, there were 37 deaths during police operations in France, 10 of whom were shot dead, according to the latest report , externalfrom the police regulator IGPN.

That figure puts France at about 0.5 deaths per million people.

Countries tend to report these figures differently, so it's difficult to compare. For example, there is a question of whether the death occurred during the operation or after it.

But it's definitely considerably lower than the USA, where the figure was, external about 3.5 per million and Canada where it was, external about 1.5.

And it’s higher than England and Wales, where there were, external two fatal police shootings and 11 deaths in or following police custody in 2021-22. That is about 0.2 deaths per million.

Hugh Schofield
BBC News, Paris

Come to Nanterre to get an all-round view of the crisis boiling over in France. But if you are a journalist, be advised to keep your head down.

An approach to a group of young men - some bearded, one built like a bodybuilder - outside the Le 35 café prompts an aggressive outburst of swearing and a pointed finger directing me to keep out.

At the scene where police shot dead a 17-year-old boy of Algerian descent last Tuesday, women in Islamic headscarves shout abuse at police and the media from passing cars.

Wandering through the streets incognito - without a camera or notebook - past burned-out cars and smashed premises it is possible to pick up glimpses of the last catastrophic few days.

Read more here.

Image source, EPA

French media has reported that a gun shop was among the businesses targeted by looters in Marseille last night.

Le Parisien says that 30 young people broke into a gun shop and stole "five to eight" hunting rifles before authorities could intervene.

According to an officer quoted by broadcaster France 3, no ammunition was stolen.

Three officers in the Rhone region were shot by a man carrying a rifle last night, French media have reported.

The officers were "ambushed" by someone who was hiding behind a wall when they were shot in the legs and groin, according to reports.

"We have crossed a red line. We've not seen this kind of thing before here and it's very concerning," a member of the police for the Rhone region is quoted by broadcaster BFMTV as saying.

According to French media, Nahel's funeral began at 11:00 (09:00 GMT) near Nanterre.

Le Monde reported that "a big number" of Nanterre residents and his friends flocked to the funeral home to pay their respects. The funeral will follow the Muslim practice.

Nahel’s family have asked that the funeral be private, and Le Monde reports that journalists at the funeral home are being turned away "kindly, but firmly".

The funeral ceremony will continue at Ibn Badis mosque in Nanterre, where a Muslim funeral prayer will be performed.

Nahel will be buried at 14:30 (12:30 GMT).

Authorities in Marseille are taking measures to try and prevent Friday night's violence from being repeated tonight.

It has been announced that not only will public transport be halted at 19:00 (17:00 GMT), but all public events are cancelled - including the city's Pride festival - which was due to take place today.

Image source, Reuters

Nahel's funeral is due to take place in his hometown of Nanterre this afternoon.

French media reports people are already flocking to the funeral home to pay their respects to Nahel and his family.

The funeral will be entirely private, and lawyers for Nahel’s mother have asked the media to stay away from the cemetery.

As our correspondents have been reporting, the situation in Nanterre has been tense ever since Nahel was shot and killed.

Although no public gatherings are planned to coincide with the funeral, spontaneous ones might occur.

We will keep you up to date with the latest.

The riots have been happening since Tuesday, when 17-year-old Nahel was shot dead by a police officer in Nanterre during a traffic stop.

Around 45,000 police officers were deployed on the fourth night of protests arross France , and more than 1,300 people have been arrested.

Here is how it looks on Saturday morning after a night of clashes between the police and the protesters.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, AFP

Image source, AFP

Sofia Bettiza
Reporting from Roubaix

I’m in Roubaix - a suburb of Lille, and one of the poorest municipalities in the whole country.

Like many other cities across France, this place has seen fires, looting and damage to public property.

I’m looking at what remains of a big office building. About 500 people worked here: it was an important part of the community.

Rioters broke in and set it on fire. One part of the building is completely charred, and has collapsed onto the street. Broken glass and debris is everywhere. We can still see and smell the smoke coming out.

All the people who work here have lost their offices and their belongings.

Just across the road is a pharmacy, which is also a health centre - and one of very few places in the neighbourhood where people can get treatment when they’re ill.

It’s been looted, and partially destroyed.

Many residents of Roubaix told us: “what’s the point of damaging pharmacies, offices, theatres? This is not the right way to demand justice for Nahel.”

The interior ministry has now said that 1,311 people were arrested across France last night, French media have reported.