France and Paris Saint Germain forward, Kylian Mbappe has appealed to all protesters in the country to end the violent protest that erupted over the fatal shooting of a teenager by the French police.
The 17-year-old boy, named publicly only as ‘Nahel M’, was shot at a traffic stop in the Parisian suburb of Nanterre on Tuesday. The killing triggered consecutive nights of demonstrations across the capital and in other parts of France, many of which descended into violent clashes with police and vandalism and looting of businesses.
Protests and burning of properties have continued despite the police officer concerned being detained and charged with voluntary homicide on Thursday. But Mbappe has taken to social media to appeal for calm on behalf of the French national team.
“Like all French people, we were marked and shocked by the brutal death of young Nahel,” he wrote. “Firstly, our thoughts go out to him and his family to whom we extend our sincere condolences.
“We cannot remain insensitive to the circumstances in which this unacceptable death has taken place.
“Since this tragic event, we have been witnessing the expression of popular anger whose essence we understand, but whose form we cannot endorse.