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‘This is war’: France burns amid angry protests after teenager shot dead by police in Paris suburb
‘This is war’: France burns amid angry protests after teenager shot dead by police in Paris suburb
The stones and fireworks flew towards the police from the hands of protesters, and it was not long before vehicles were ablaze – acrid black smoke drifting into the air and mixing with the tear gas released into the crowds by officers. “This is war”, said one protester as he loaded his pockets from a flower bed in preparation for the advancing police. These were the latest clashes in a spate of violence stretching into a third evening in the wake of a teenager shot dead by police during a traffic stop in the Paris suburb of Nanterre. The officer involved in the shooting of 17-year-old Nahel M is facing preliminary charges of voluntary homicide and was placed under arrest, as President Emmanuel Macron struggles to contain spiralling public anger over the killing. There have been more than 180 arrests, with around 40,000 officers deployed across France on Thursday evening to quell any further clashes, with around 5,000 in the Paris suburbs alone. Local authorities in Clamart, about five miles from central Paris, imposed a nighttime curfew until Monday. Valerie Pecresse, who heads the greater Paris region, said all bus and tram services were halted after 9pm as people prepared for more violent protests. “It's millions of euros of public service gone up in smoke, it's millions of public money from working-class neighbourhoods,” Ms Pecresse said of the clashes. “It's irresponsible, it's wrong, and it has to stop.” The afternoon began with the largely peaceful march – with thousands participating – in honour of the French-Algerian teenager, led by his mother Mounia. That was in stark contrast to the clashes across the previous two nights, where fires were set and official buildings like town halls were attacked. As for the march, Nahel’s mother was leading the crowd from the roof of a rented van when the procession came to a halt at the Place Nelson Mandela in Nanterre – just metres away from where her son was shot – when the tear gas rolled in. She later told broadcaster France 5 that she doesn’t resent the whole police force - just the officer who fired the lethal shot that killed her son. "I don't blame the police," Mounia said, before adding that the officer "didn't have to kill my son". A police presence had been notably absent throughout the 90-minute ”marche blanche” for Nahel on Thursday afternoon, but the crowd’s chants were directed at them: “No justice, no peace”. When the lines of officers finally appeared, those mourning Nahel’s death finally had a target for their anger. There had been no signs of violence before the first canisters of tear gas dropped into the crowd, but as soon as the clouds began to billow, dozens of protesters retaliated with fireworks pointed in the direction of armoured police cars. Loose concrete was thrown at nearby buildings, smashing their glass facades, while a nearby digger was set alight. Protesters scrawled “Vengeance for Nahel” across buildings and bus shelters. The unrest has spread to other French cities, from Toulouse in the south to Lille in the north, as frustrations over police violence erupted in scenes reminiscent of the Paris riots of 2005. Then, unrest convulsed France for three weeks and forced then-president Jacques Chirac to declare a state of emergency. That wave of violence erupted in the Paris suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois and spread across the country following the death of two young people electrocuted in a power substation as they hid from police. Two officers were acquitted in a trial 10 years later. This time the spark was the shooting of Nahel during Tuesday's morning rush hour. He initially failed to stop after the Mercedes AMG he was driving, with two passengers inside, was spotted in a bus lane. Two police officers caught up with the car in a traffic jam. When the car made to drive off, one officer fired at close range through the driver's window. Nahel died from a single shot through his left arm and chest, Nanterre public prosecutor Pascal Prache said. He added: "The public prosecutor considers that the legal conditions for using the weapon have not been met". Lawyers for Nahel's family have called the killing "an execution". A view shared by Green party leader Marine Tondelier who said that "what I see on this video is the execution by police of a 17-year-old kid, in France, in 2023, in broad daylight". The officer has acknowledged firing a lethal shot, the prosecutor said, telling investigators he wanted to prevent a car chase, fearing he or another person would be hurt after the teenager allegedly committed several traffic violations. The lawyer for the charged officer, Laurent-Franck Lienard, told French media: "Having devoted his life to protecting people and ensuring the law is respected, he is now being detained for having had to use his firearm as part of his job." Nahel – who was too young to own a full driving license in France – was known to police for previously failing to comply with traffic stop orders, Mr Prache said. Police initially said one officer had shot at the teenager because he was driving his car towards him. That version was quickly contradicted by a video circulating on social media. The video shows two police officers beside a Mercedes AMG car, with one shooting at the driver at close range as he pulled away. Nahel was an only child raised by his single mother, who is studying for an electrician’s certificate, according to French media. He had also joined a community rugby project. The lawyers for his family said he was “well liked” locally, while his grandmother Nadia called him a “good, kind boy”. Tuesday's killing was the third fatal shooting during traffic stops in France so far in 2023, down from a record 13 last year, a spokesperson for the national police said. A figure that was noted by some of the placards in the march. There were three such killings in 2021 and two in 2020, according to a Reuters tally, which shows the majority of victims since 2017 were Black or of Arab origin. President Macron has called the killing “unforgivable” but at an emergency meeting to discuss the crisis on Thursday he called the attacks on public buildings and other violence “totally unjustifiable”. “The professionals of disorder must go home,” the interior minister, Gerald Darmanin, said, speaking from the northern town of Mons-en-Baroeul, where several municipal buildings were set alight. He said while there is no need yet to declare a state of emergency – a measure taken to quell weeks of rioting in 2005 – he added: “The state’s response will be extremely firm.” He also said that scores of police had been injured throughout the clashes with protesters. Residents around Nanterre are preparing for a long night on Thursday, with parking spaces emptying around the centre as people fear their car being set alight. Several burnt-out vehicles still line the road from last night, with authorities unable to clear it in time before today’s trouble broke out. Several fires were already burning by late-evening – with one engulfing the ground floor of a building, where a bank is located – and the sound of sirens could be heard all over Nanterre. “The whole sky is black,” says one protester, who asked not to be named. “The police caused this mess.” Read More French suburbs are burning. How a teen's killing is focusing anger over police tactics France police shooting latest: Paris commune implements overnight curfew after officer charged with homicide Riots in Paris: Where are the French riots and why are they happening? French suburbs are burning. How a teen's killing is focusing anger over police tactics Who is Nahel? The teen shot dead by police in France France’s highest administrative court says the soccer federation can ban headscarves in matches
2023-06-30 06:24
People are finally learning what SPAM actually stands for
People are finally learning what SPAM actually stands for
Sandwiches have become increasingly elaborate creations: pillows of golden focaccia dripping with sumptuous pulled meats, tahini dressings, and spice-crusted roast veg. And yet, back in the day, you were lucky if you got a smear of margarine on yesterday’s white bread with a hunk of pink, pockmarked SPAM slammed unceremoniously in between. Ah yes, SPAM, there’s a reason why it became the butt of a Monty Python sketch and is now most commonly associated with the most annoying type of email correspondence. It’s unsexy, ultimately unhealthy and, at one point, was utterly unavoidable. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter However, as we’ve established, food standards have somewhat evolved since WWII rationing so SPAM doesn’t get as much of a look-in at lunchtime these days. Still, most of us have at least heard of it even if we’ve never actually tried it. Monty Python - Spam youtu.be But now, people have suddenly realised that they don’t actually know what the acronym of its name stands for. Plenty of people have their own theories, though, which they’ve publicly shared on Twitter. “What does SPAM stand for? Salty Piece A' Meat?” one asked. “I often conjectured that 'Spam' was an acronym for 'Spoiled Ham',” wrote another. Another nodded to an old joke made by retired stand-up comedian Bill Endgvall: “I finally figured out what spam stands for – stuff posing as meat.” While another suggested it actually connotes “scientifically processed animal matter”. To clarify, SPAM itself is processed meat made of a pork and ham mixture, salt, sugar, potato starch, water, and sodium nitrite. The meat is ground and combined with the other ingredients before it is transferred to its signature rectangular can, vacuum-sealed, and cooked inside, the Encyclopedia Britannica notes. And despite the plethora of alternative suggestions, the name is, in fact, a portmanteau for spiced ham. It was coined in 1937 by its creator, New York actor Ken Daigneau, whose brother was an executive at the manufacturer Hormel Foods. According to Britannica, Daigneau later confessed that he’d come up with the name before he’d even conceived of the product, thinking it was memorable. Well, he sure hit the money on that one. SPAM continues to be loved by millions of households across the world, with more than 10 varieties of meat available on the market. Indeed, in Hawaii where it is perhaps best loved by consumers, it is enjoyed in a number of unique ways, including as an alternative to raw fish or egg in a sushi-style dish called musubi. And sure, we love our kimchi cauliflower milk rolls and slow-cooked lamb flatbreads but, credit where it’s due, SPAM has proven that it's the truly simple things that often stand the test of time. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
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China Plans to Name Pan Gongsheng as New PBOC Governor: WSJ
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Stock market today: Wall Street is mixed as rising bond yields keep cranking up the pressure
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As worker actions continue nationwide, White House highlights how administration is helping unions
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Germany bolsters approach to more 'assertive' China
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USDA, states eye cheaper food by targeting anticompetitive acts
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By Leah Douglas The U.S. Department of Agriculture is seeking to lower food prices and boost competition by
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Parents can fight release of Tennessee school shooter's manifesto, court rules
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Kim Kardashian shares pic from her birthday bash but Internet only has eyes for one of them
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