The funeral for Nahel M., the 17-year-old French teen shot by a police officer on Tuesday, drew a nationwide wave of protests that continued through the week. At the family’s request for privacy, the service began amid heightened security and was held quietly to prevent further escalation.
Services started at 11:00 am at the Mont-Valérien funeral home in Rueil-Malmaison, near Nanterre, where the teen’s body was prepared following Muslim rites.
According to witnesses cited by Le Monde, many residents of Nanterre approached with respectful distance to pay their respects, underscoring a delicate balance between commemoration and public concern.
The family organized a security detail comprised of friends and relatives who formed a cordon to exclude media and unfamiliar onlookers, ensuring a peaceful observance.
Nahel M.’s remains were later moved to the Ibn Badis Mosque in Nanterre for the funeral prayer, with the janaza salat performed before the body was laid to rest in the Muslim section of Mont-Valérien cemetery at 2:30 pm.
In a statement released to French media over the past hours, the teenager’s family reaffirmed their appeal for privacy and urged calm amid a climate of significant tension across the country, where authorities reported more than 1,300 arrests and 79 officers and gendarmes injured during the night’s unrest.