A year after the death of Nahel, killed during a police check in Nanterre, return to La Verrière in Yvelines, a year after the riots which engulfed the region. The city had paid a heavy price. The town hall hopes to begin work quickly to finally turn the page.
A year later, the ruins of the burned school bear witness to the violence of the riots that occurred after the death of Nahel, killed during a police check in Nanterre. The town of La Verrière, in Yvelines, paid a heavy price: two schools were set on fire and the police station vandalized.
In two nights of violence, the damage to La Verrière amounted to 30 million euros, according to the mayor.
Before one of the educational establishments caught fire before his eyes, Jean-Michel had maintained this school for 34 years. “You imagine intervening here and you see it in flames… As they had blocked the firefighters’ access (…), by the time the firefighters arrived, three quarters of the school were on fire”, remembers technical agent of the city.
Demolition of the site planned for July
Since then, the children have been able to continue their education in another school, where eight classrooms were brought in as a matter of urgency last year. But they will have to wait to return to their establishment, which is now in ruins.
“We have lots of intrusions, lots of thefts. We don’t have the means to guard a site for such a long period, it’s been a year,” explains Nicolas Dainville, the town councilor. “We really can’t wait for the ruins to be demolished,” whispers the elected official, while this project is planned for July.
“Things are progressing” slowly
Despite the pitfalls and long procedures to launch the work, this town of 6,000 inhabitants has, in one year, started to heal.
“Things are progressing,” notes Nicolas Dainville. “There was the repair of our neighborhood house which had been damaged, there was the repair of the roads which had been badly damaged, the replacement of the containers which had been burned, the repair of our municipal police station which been vandalized,” explains the mayor.
There now remains the school group to rebuild. “There are public procurement procedures which are horribly long,” laments the mayor. This charred school should rise from its ashes for the start of the 2026 school year.
Chloé Berthod with Alicia Foricher
