Paris, 28 June 2023 (dpa/MIA) - Thirty-one people were arrested following riots in a Paris suburb after the fatal police shooting of a 17-year-old, while 24 of the 2,000 police officers deployed were injured, the French government said on Wednesday.

The unrest, which began on Tuesday evening with a demonstration outside the Nanterre police station, spread to neighbouring towns during the night.

A witness' mobile phone video of the incident, verified by the France Info channel, shows an officer pointing his gun into the driver's door of the stationary car, that contained two passengers in addition to the driver.

When the youth at the wheel suddenly drives off, the officer fires at close range, fatally wounding him. The car then drives a few metres further and rams a road barrier. One underage passenger was arrested and later released. A second passenger fled the scene, according to the public prosecutor's office.

According to France Info, two police officers at the scene had initially said the youth wanted to run them over. Later they changed their story and explained that he had not obeyed their orders and then suddenly accelerated. There was no longer any talk of the youth's intention to kill the officers, the report said.

French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said the police officer behind the shooting is in custody and is being investigated for manslaughter.

French President Emmanuel Macron has condemned the deadly police shooting. "We have a young person who has been killed - this is inexplicable and unforgivable," Macron said in the southern city of Marseille on Wednesday.

Macron also said he expects the judiciary to do its work calmly and the truth to be revealed as soon as possible.

The boy's family announced through their lawyer that they would prosecute the shooter for murder and also for false testimony because his account of the events was clearly contradicted by the video recordings.

The teenager is said to have been known to the police for previous traffic offences and resistance against law enforcement officers.

Darmanin described the death as a "tragedy" but at the same time noted that police officers have died in many cases in which people resisted authority.

City authorities reported that protesters had set garbage cans, cars and an elementary school on fire and emergency forces were pelted with large quantities of fireworks.

Rioters erected barricades between the high-rise housing estates and hindered firefighters in their operations.

The killing triggered outrage in France with accusations of excessive police violence.

The victims of such incidents often include young men with a migrant background from the suburbs, where violent protests afterwards are not uncommon.

Prominent French people spoke out against the police shooting.

"I feel sorry for my France," tweeted France's football superstar Kylian Mbappé. "An unacceptable situation. All my thoughts go to Nahel's family and loved ones, this little angel has gone far too soon."

French actor Omar Sy wrote on Twitter, "May a justice worthy of the name honour the memory of this child."

And left-wing politician Jean-Luc Mélenchon said police were bringing the authority of the state into disrepute and needed to be reformed from the ground up.

"The death penalty no longer exists in France. No police officer has the right to kill except in self-defence," he tweeted.

Photo: EPA