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A fundraiser for the family of the French officer who fatally shot a 17-year-old boy had raised more than $1.5 million early Tuesday, sparking new outrage after days of violent protests in France.
The GoFundMe campaign aimed to raise about $54,000 for the officer’s family, but within four days, multiples of that amount had been raised, with donations received from more than 46,000 people.
A similar fundraiser to help the victim’s mother — a teenager of North African descent identified as Nahel M., who was killed during a traffic stop in a Paris suburb last week — had raised just over $200,000 as of Monday, according to Le Monde.
The shooting sparked a wave of violent protests across France and revealed deep divisions in the country grappling with the aftermath of a murder that has reignited heated debates about race, identity and police violence.
Protests erupted across France after a police officer shot dead a 17-year-old boy of Arab descent in a Paris suburb. (Video: The Washington Post)
The GoFundMe campaign for the officer’s family was organized by Jean Messiha, who previously served as spokesman for former far-right presidential candidate Éric Zemmour, and expressed his support for law enforcement and the officer being investigated for first degree killings.
How the murder of a teenager fits into the French history of police brutality
The fundraiser was strongly condemned by several lawmakers and activists, calling for its immediate closure.
Parliamentarian Éric Bothorel, a member of French President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist party, put it this way “indecent and scandalous” while far-left MEP Mathilde Panot called for the GoFundMe page to be deleted. “If you kill a young North African in France in 2023, you can make a lot of money,” she says said on Twitter.
The Socialist Party’s Olivier Faure also told GoFundMe to shut down the page, saying it was facilitating one “shameful” Action.
Sleeping Giants, a local activist group that fights online hate by pressuring companies to remove ads from conservative media outlets, asked GoFundMe if the fundraiser violated the rules own terms.
GoFundMe’s Terms of Service do not allow raising money for legal defense of alleged “financial and violent crimes”. At TwitterSleeping Giants asked the company how it could ensure the money was not used for this purpose.
The globally popular for-profit crowdfunding platform said the fund for the French official’s family did not violate its guidelines.
“This fundraiser is subject to our terms and conditions as the funds will be used to support the officer’s family,” a company spokesman wrote in an email, adding that the money will be sent directly to the family, who are listed as beneficiaries.
Grandmother of murdered teenager calls for calm as protests rock France
Tens of thousands of police officers were deployed in response to the violent riots that broke out after the police killed the 17-year-old. Municipal town halls, schools and vehicles were attacked and set on fire, and protesters threw firecrackers at police officers. Over the weekend, authorities accused rioters of ramming a vehicle into the home of the mayor of a Paris suburb, while officials in Beijing said a bus carrying Chinese tourists was attacked during protests, resulting in multiple injuries.
On Sunday, the grandmother of the killed teenager appealed for calm and an end to the riots.
“My heart hurts,” she was quoted as saying by Portal when asked about the fundraiser for the officer involved in the shooting.
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