Legal fund for cop who shot French teen Nahel Merzouk sparks fresh outrage

A fundraiser for the French cop who shot and killed a 17-year-old outside Paris has surpassed $1 million — sparking a fresh wave of anger as nationwide protests continue to rage.

The fund for the French cop, who has not been identified, is four times larger than that for the family of victim Nahel Merzouk, the Independent reported on Monday.

“It’s insulting to Nahel’s family,” French lawyer Carole-Olivia Monteno told reporters. “It only increases hate where there’s too much of it already.

“It’s completely inappropriate and politically it does nothing.”

Nahel’s fundraiser raised about $220,000 by Monday morning.

The 38-year-old cop’s legal fund was set up by Jean Messiha, a one-time adviser to French far-right pol Marine Le Pen. The officer was charged with murder and is being held without bail.

According to the GoFundMe for him, he “is today paying the biggest price … for doing his job.”

Nahel, a Muslim delivery driver, was shot and killed by police during a traffic stop in the Paris suburb of Nanterre on Tuesday, igniting massive protests that swept through the nation.

The shooting unleashed long-running resentment against authorities, particularly within lower-income neighborhoods where residents feel targeted by police and discriminated against by the government.

At the height of the unrest on Friday night, French cops arrested more than 3,800 protesters, with widespread looting and vandalism throughout the country. The mobs have looted stores, torched retail and government buildings alike, and set hundreds of cars on fire.

The numbers of arrests have since dropped — from 719 overnight Saturday into Sunday to 160 from Sunday to Monday — despite tensions continuing to run high and new demonstrations in Paris and beyond.

The riots posed a new challenge for embattled French President Emmanuel Macron, who was the target of massive protests earlier in the year over his unpopular pension reforms — and who has now had to quell a new round of unrest ahead of next year’s Olympic Games in Paris.

On Sunday, Nahel’s grandmother, identified only as Nadia, urged calm in the midst of the violence.

“I’m telling them to stop,” she told reporters. “Don’t destroy the schools, don’t destroy the buses. We want things to calm down.”

Meanwhile, the Tour de France pedaled into France on Monday without incident, despite earlier concerns by some athletes and team members that the protests could hamper the competition.

With Post wires