Kylian Mbappe calls for end to violence in France
France captain Kylian Mbappe says the “violence must stop” as protests grip the country following the death of a teenager shot by police.
France has seen nights of unrest after Nahel M, 17, was killed as he drove away from a traffic stop on Tuesday.
“Violence solves nothing, especially when it inevitably turns against those who are expressing it,” Mbappe posted on his Instagram story.
The 24-year-old called for “peaceful and constructive” protests.
More than 900 arrests were made on Thursday night alone, officials said, with the violence continuing on Friday. The government announced it would deploy 45,000 police officers in a bid to contain further violence.
From Lille and Roubaix in the north to Marseille in the south, shops have been ransacked, streets badly damaged and cars set on fire.
Paris St-Germain forward Mbappe won the World Cup with France in 2018 and was handed the captaincy by manager Didier Deschamps in March.
His statement, apparently speaking on behalf of the France team, added: “Like all French people we were marked and shocked by the death of young Nahel.”
Mbappe said that the France players, many of whom come from working-class neighbourhoods like Nahel, share “the feelings of sadness and pain”.
Mbappe, who was raised in Bondy, a northeastern suburb of Paris, said the players “could not remain silent” as they called for the “time of violence to give way to that of mourning, dialogue and reconstruction”.
