July 3 () –
A petition in support of the family of the policeman who killed 17-year-old teenager Nahel M. last Tuesday has already raised more than 1,120,000 euros from 50,000 donors, while the fundraising initiative for Nahel’s family has raised 230,000 euros .
“I support the family of Nanterre police officer Florian M. who has done his job and is now paying a heavy price. Support him MASSIVELY and support our police!” reads the petition, started by far-right journalist Jean Messiha.
Messiha himself has expressed his satisfaction with the success of the proposal, hosted on the GoFundMe portal. “One million euros. His world is falling apart. Ours is reborn. Thank you and bravo!” Messiha published on Twitter after surpassing the million-euro barrier in a request initially set at 50,000.
The President of France, Emmanuel “Macron has chosen the cause of Nahel. We chose the cause of the Police and the Gendarmerie. This exemplary policeman only did his job,” argued the former member of the far-right National Grouping party and now close to Éric Zemmour.
“Supporting our police forces means supporting France.
Not supporting our police forces means being on the side of non-France, anti-France and Collaborationism. I am on the side of France. And you?”, She has published in a recent message.
Some voices have called on social networks for its annulment. “Can funds be raised for a man accused of intentional homicide? It is indecent and scandalous,” said the deputy of The Republic on the Move – Macron’s party – Éric Bothorel. In 2019, an open collection in favor of a ‘yellow vest’ accused of violent acts was quickly censored by the Government.
The newspaper ‘Liberation’ has published that Messiha first tried to publish the petition on Leetchi, but this platform blocked it after requesting documentation from the applicant. In fact, several organizations have already pointed out that the initiative could violate GoFundMe’s own terms of use, which prohibits proposals that promote incitement to violence or hate speech. What the page has made clear is that the money cannot be used to pay fines, bail or sanctions imposed by a judge.
Meanwhile, the collection started precisely in Leetchi in favor of the Nahel family has already added 230,000 euros, according to figures for Monday afternoon. “Nahel, 17, died today in conditions of extreme violence. He leaves behind a mother torn by the loss of her only child. He needs our support to face the long trials that await him,” the petition states.
“The left opposes Jean Messiha’s collection for the policeman’s family, which achieves almost 700,000 euros while that of the young man’s family reaches 100,000 euros. The more the leftists-“progressives” get angry over the collection in favor of of Florian’s family, the French give more”, highlighted Messiha himself on Sunday, speaking of himself in the third person on Twitter.
The agent fired at the young man last Tuesday when he started the march in a car whose window the policeman was leaning out of. His death has sparked five consecutive days of anti-racist protests and riots and the agent, described as “exemplary” and “very calm”, has been suspended and charged with murder.
