PARIS ̵1; A controversial fundraising campaign to help the family of the policeman who killed teenager Nahel M. in France has raised more than €1 million.
The campaign was started by a French far-right figure on the popular US platform GoFundMe and reached the €1 million mark on Monday – almost five times more than the effort to raise money to help the 17-year-old’s mother.
Despite the controversy, GoFundMe said it would not be shutting down the campaign.
French ministers invited to radio and TV shows on Monday tried hard Refrain from taking a stand on the subject.
Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti explained, “Everyone can express their feelings and contribute to a fund… But I think, in this case, it does not go in the direction of appeasement.” france inter,
The killing of a 17-year-old teenager of North African descent by a police officer last week sparked chaos in France, triggering violent protests across the country and rekindling long-running tensions between the accused youth and police . of cruelty and racial discrimination.
last days rioters have swag Shops were burned, city hall and police stations were torched, and in one case the mayor’s home and his family were attacked.
On Monday morning the tension appeared to ease. About 157 people on Sunday night Arrested – A huge decrease compared to the previous days. Police and government are on high alert.
The fundraising campaign to help the police officer’s family was started by Jean Messiah, a far-right media personality and supporter of former presidential candidate Eric Zemmour. The page read, “Support for the family of the Nanterre police officer, Florian.M, who did his job and is now paying a heavy price.”
According to LiberationMessiah first tried to launch the campaign on French fundraising platform Lychee, but his attempt was blocked after a few hours as the company asked for official documents.
GoFundMe has no plans to block or remove the page as of now. A spokesperson for the company told POLITICO that the fundraising campaign did not violate the platform’s rules.
“Currently, this campaign complies with our Terms of Use as the funds will be paid directly to the concerned family. The family has been added as a beneficiary and hence the funds will be paid directly to them,” the spokesperson added. Funds used for the legal defense of violent crimes, as well as hate speech, are not allowed on the platform.
A rival fundraising effort on Lychee has reached almost €200,000 to help the mother of the slain teen.
Ocean Herrero contributed reporting.