France braces for protests after 'unforgivable' police shooting

France braced for more angry protests on Wednesday after the killing of a teenager by the police during a traffic stop that President Emmanuel Macron called “unforgivable”.

France braced for more angry protests on Wednesday after the killing of a teenager by the police during a traffic stop that President Emmanuel Macron called "unforgivable".

The government said it would deploy 2,000 riot police to deal with any unrest, a day after a 17-year-old was shot in the chest by a police officer who then appeared to lie about the circumstances of the killing.

The shooting had already sparked unrest in several Paris suburbs overnight.

Celebrities and politicians expressed outrage and grief at the death of the teenager. Mr. Macron called it "inexplicable" and "unforgivable".

The teenager, named only as Nahel M., was pulled over by two policemen on Tuesday for breaking traffic rules, prosecutors said.

Police initially reported that one officer had shot at the teenager because he was driving his car at him, but this version of events was contradicted by a video circulating on social media and authenticated by AFP.

The footage shows the two policemen actually standing by the side of the stationary car, with one pointing a weapon at the driver. A voice is heard saying "You are going to get a bullet in the head."