More than a million euros paid to the family of the policeman who killed Nahel

A pot of “shame” has been launched in support of the family of the policeman who shot dead the teenager Nahel, 17, of Algerian origin, during a simple traffic check. The kitty quickly exceeded 1.2 million euros in donations and more than 50,000 donors, in the face of a kitty launched for the family of the victim which did not exceed 200,000 euros.

The kitty launched by the French far right reflects the depth of racism in France. On the 6th day of riots in the country, similar to those provoked in the United States with the murder of the African American Georges Floyd, she maintains this feeling of anger and fed up felt in the immigrant community in France.

It is difficult to explain how a country can become a supporter of “evil”, by financially helping the family of the policeman who voluntarily pointed his weapon at the young man’s head, telling him that he was going to kill him.

“Support for the family of the Nanterre policeman, who has done his job and who is today paying a high price”, indicates the text accompanying the kitty created by the former spokesperson for Eric Zemmour’s campaign, Jean Messiha .

The police officer implicated in this case was filmed, image and sound in support, during this traffic check which put an end to the life of a teenager. He was indicted on Thursday for intentional homicide and remanded in custody.

“Nearly a million euros collected on the initiative of a far-right polemicist in support of a police officer who kills a teenager. The message ? It pays to kill a young Arab,” MEP Manon Aubry said, calling for it to be removed.

French political circles were outraged by this collection of funds and demanded that it be abolished. The deputy Renaissance Eric Bothorel, judged that this collection “is indecent and scandalous”.

The first secretary of the Socialist Party, Olivier Faure, also criticized this kitty (a second was created on the initiative of his police colleagues) by challenging the platform which hosted it. “You are hosting a GoFundMe shaming campaign. You maintain an already gaping fracture by participating in the support of a police officer indicted for intentional homicide. Close! “.

A spokesperson for the Gofundme platform assured that the kitty was “compliant” with its rules, saying that the funds “will be paid directly to the family in question. The family has been added as a beneficiary and therefore the funds will be paid directly to them”.

In 2019, a kitty opened in support of a “yellow vest” accused of hitting a police officer on the Leetchi platform, was quickly censored by the government and closed under pressure.

The head of the French government, Élisabeth Borne, indicated this time that it was not up to the government to “decide on the existence of this pot but to justice”. During a press briefing, she said that “the fact that it is a person close to the extreme right who is at the origin of this kitty does not undoubtedly contribute to bringing appeasement”.

The Minister of Justice Éric Dupond-Moretti had judged that this kitty “does not go in the direction of appeasement” and warned against a potential “instrumentalization” of the initiative launched by Jean Messiah especially that he boasts for collecting more donations than Nahel’s family.