French Riots Also Voice Anger Over Aid to Ukraine Amid Gov't Austerity - War Correspondent

France has been engulfed in a wave of rioting over the police killing of a youth of North African descent. Veteran war correspondent Elijah J. Magnier said the shooting and the popular response echoed anti-police brutality protests in the US, but was also driven by anger over austerity measures.

Rapidly spreading riots in France over the death of a young man are not just protests against police brutality, but also reflect anger over government support for Ukraine while attacking pension rights, a war correspondent believes.

The youth, of Algerian descent, was stopped by police in a car he used as a takeaway food delivery driver. When he tried to flee, one officer opened fire and killed Nahel.

Brussels-based war correspondent Elijah J. Magnier told Sputnik that the shooting was "murder."

"The police in France are trying to imitate the police in the US without having the same constitution and the same right of opening fire there," Magnier said. "But this is not the first time, unfortunately. In 2022, 15 youngsters were killed by the police, more or less" for allegedly resisting arrest.

The officer, as-yet unnamed, has since issued an apology to the youth's family via his lawyer Laurent-Franck Lienard.

However, unrest over the killing of a 17-year-old youth identified only as Nahel M. in the Parisian suburb of Nanterre on June 27 has since spread across the country, as far south as the Mediterranean port city of Marseille.

Hundreds have been arrested in the worst rioting France has seen in years of mass "Yellow Vest" protests since President Emmanuel Macron came to power in 2017 and began implementing a new round of austerity policies.

The veteran journalist said the riots had begun with French North Africans "expressing their anger by burning cars."

"But when we see that is spreading to more than 12 cities around France, it shows that people are coming out not only in support of this young man, the adolescent that was killed by the police, but against the police brutality and against the decisions of the government," he argued, which were "very incompatible with the interests of the French population."

"When the government is saying we don't have money and spending billions in Ukraine, then we see the big gap between the decision makers in France and the population who are very angry about the pension scheme, about retirement, about their rights, about the hours of work, about the poor performance of the government," Magnier stressed.

For more in-depth analysis of current events, tune in to our Sputnik Radio show Fault Lines.