A parliamentary investigation report recommends better training for police officers almost a year after the fatal police shooting of a teenager in France and the serious unrest that followed.
The report, presented on Wednesday in the Assemblée Nationale in Paris, says training should be extended and that stress management and conflict defusing, particularly during traffic stops, should become part of basic and advanced police training.
In addition, the technical means of the police to stop cars during a check should be expanded and patrol cars should be equipped with cameras.
The investigation was commissioned following the death of 17-year-old Nahel during a traffic stop in Nanterre near Paris in June last year. Two officers had stopped the teenager because he was travelling too fast in a car in a bus lane.
When the teenager suddenly drove off again, one of the police officers shot him dead. This was followed by serious riots and protests against police violence in France. The police officer who fired the shot is still being investigated on suspicion of premeditated murder.
The investigation also focussed on the question of whether easier regulations on the use of weapons during traffic checks led to an increase in police shootings in 2017.
On average at least, this does not appear to be the case. Only in less than one per cent of cases in which drivers ignored a stop sign from the police did they use a weapon.
