Thousands of extra security forces are being deployed in the Paris region, after a 17-year-old driver was shot and killed by police in Nanterre on Tuesday during a traffic check.

The teenager, named as Nahel M, was shot at point-blank range as he drove off and crashed soon afterwards.

Protests over the killing gripped the Paris region overnight and there are fears of a second night of violence.

French President Emmanuel Macron said the shooting was “unforgivable”.

But the president’s comments prompted an angry reaction from police unions, who accused him of rushing to judge the officers involved.

The Alliance Police union called for them to be presumed innocent until found guilty, while the rival Unité SGP Police also spoke of political interventions that encouraged “anti-cop hatred”.

Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said he would be taking legal action against another group, France Police, after it published what he called an “unacceptable and abject” tweet seeking to justify the teenager’s killing.

Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne also weighed in, saying the police intervention “manifestly did not conform to the rules”.

Video of the incident on social media shows an officer pointing a gun at the driver of a car, before a gunshot is heard and the car then crashes to a stop.

The teenager died of bullet wounds in the chest, despite help from emergency services.

The officer accused of killing him, who said he had fired because he felt his life was in danger, is in custody on charges of voluntary manslaughter.

A series of protests followed the shooting on Tuesday night in Nanterre, just west of Paris. Some 31 people were arrested following the disorder.

Cars and rubbish bins were set alight and bus shelters destroyed. Fireworks were also set off near the police station. Riot police used tear gas to break up protesters, some of whom had set up barricades.

Nahel is the second person this year in France to have been killed in a police shooting during a traffic stop. Last year, a record 13 people died in this way.

According to French media, police initially suggested the teen drove his car towards them with the intention of hurting them.

But footage posted online and verified by the AFP news agency shows an officer pointing his weapon at the driver through his window and appearing to fire at point-blank range as he tries to drive off.

The agency also reports that a person in the video can be heard saying: “You’re going to be shot in the head” – but it is unclear who says it.

Two others were in the car at the time of the shooting. One fled while another, also a minor, was arrested and held by police.

“Nothing justifies the death of a young person,” President Macron told reporters in Marseille, calling for “calm for justice to be done”.

“I would like to express the feelings of the entire nation at what has happened and the death of young Nahel, and to tell his family of our solidarity and the nation’s affection.”

“We have a teenager who has been killed. It’s inexplicable, unforgivable,” he said, adding that the the case was immediately referred to the courts where he hoped justice would “do its job quickly”.

The president's remarks are meant to calm a potentially inflammable atmosphere in Nanterre, near the La Défense business district, and other Paris suburbs, where the killing of Nahel has triggered strong emotions.

In response to fears that Tuesday night’s riots could be repeated this evening, the government has announced there will be strong police reinforcements on the streets.

French President Emmanuel Macron came out quickly and strongly in support of the family of 17-year-old Nahel M.

It looks very much as If the government has made a co-ordinated effort to send out a message of appeasement and pacification.

The police unions are not happy.

For police representatives, there is a clear duty for all sides to hold off from judgement until the full facts in the case have been elucidated. The presumption of innocence, they say, also applies to the police.

It Is a principle that French governments normally are keen to uphold.

So why are they so quick to speak out now? There are two reasons.

The first is that what happened took place in the new era of social media and real-time filming. The images are stark, and the conclusion – police over-reaction – is hard to avoid.

The second factor is fear. Fear that the disturbances of Tuesday night could only be a beginning, and that the long hot summer nights ahead are made for suburban riots.

In a video posted on TikTok, Nahel’s mother Mounia urged people to join her on a march for her son.

“Come all, I beg you.” She said. “We will all be there.”

“I’m hurting for my France. An unacceptable situation. All my thoughts go out to Nahel’s family and loved ones, this little angel gone far too soon,” France and Paris Saint-Germain striker Kylian Mbappé wrote on Twitter.

Authorities have opened two separate investigations following the teen’s death – one into a possible killing by a public official, and another into the driver’s failure to stop his vehicle and the alleged attempt to kill a police officer.

Paris police chief Laurent Nuñez told French television station BFMTV that the policeman’s actions “raise questions”, though he suggested the officer may have felt threatened.

The 17-year-old’s family lawyer, Yassine Bouzrou, insisted that was an illegitimate defence, telling the same channel the video “clearly showed a policeman killing a young man in cold blood”.

He added that the family had filed a complaint against police for “lying”. (BBC)

•Firefighters extinguish a burning vehicle in Nanterre destroyed bt Protesters following protests in the wake of Nahel’s death

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