The police killing of a teenage boy during a traffic stop that sparked widespread unrest in France has also led to an outpouring of support for the police officer who fired the fatal shot and has since been charged with voluntary homicide.
Two GoFundMe fundraisers were started in support of the police officer who shot Nahel, a 17-year-old of North African descent whose death sparked protests all over France, La Libre Belgique reports.
The biggest of these two funds, which calls for support to the policeman's family, reached over €1.07 million in donations on Monday afternoon and has ties to radical fringes of the French far-right. The second fundraiser, which collected over €53,000, was started by a motorcyclist group from the department where the murder took place.
But the fundraising efforts have unleashed a fresh wave of fury, with teenage victim's grandmother telling BFM TV "my heart aches" on hearing about them.
'A riot generator'
The million-euro fundraiser gathered over 54.000 donations and was started by Jean Messiha, the former spokesperson of far-right French presidential candidate Éric Zemmour. Zemmour has been convicted several times for inciting religious or racial hatred.
The description of Mr Messiah's fundraiser expresses support for the policeman's family, saying that "he was doing his job and now has to pay a high price".
Il a tué un jeune de 17 ans et va empocher un million d'euros grâce à la solidarité des racistes.
Pourquoi @EmmanuelMacron et @GDarmanin refusent de fermer cette cagnotte ? pic.twitter.com/qgiKMgR7Xu — Louis Boyard (@LouisBoyard) July 3, 2023
Tweet translation: "He killed a 17-year-old teen and will cash in a million euros thanks to the solidarity of racists. Why do Emmanuel Macron and Gérald Darmanin refuse to shut down this fundraiser?"
French politicians from the left and centre have condemned the fundraiser and the GoFundMe website for hosting it.
"You are hosting a GoFundMe fund of shame," said Socialist Party secretary Olivier Faure. "You are perpetuating an already widening rift by helping to support a police officer under investigation for culpable homicide," Faure added, demanding that the fundraiser be shot down.
Eric Bothorel, deputy from Renaissance, President Macron's political party said that the fundraiser is "indecent and scandalous". He argued that "Jean Messiha is stirring the flames. It's a riot generator."
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In response, the far-right politician went on French television to defend the GoFundMe and attack the character of the victim. "I'd rather fund a policeman than a criminal. This policeman has an exemplary service record and he is in prison for doing his job," Messiha said.
The GoFundMe platform has since said that the fundraisers comply with their policies and will not be taken down.
