The 17-year-old was driving in the Paris suburb of Nanterre early on Tuesday when police shot him dead for refusing to stop for a traffic control after breaking road rules, prosecutors said.

Emergency services tried to resuscitate him at the scene but he died shortly afterwards.

A video circulating on social media, authenticated by AFP, shows two police officers stopping the vehicle and one pointing his weapon at the driver through the window and then firing at point blank when he drove off.

The car moved a few dozen metres before crashing.

The national police inspectorate the IGPN have opened an investigation into possible intentional killing by a person holding a position of public authority.

A separate probe is being carried out by regional police into the driver’s failure to halt and alleged attempt to kill a person holding a position of public authority.

Two other people were in the vehicle at the time. A first passenger fled, while the second, also a minor, was arrested and taken into custody.

Nanterre mayor Patrick Jarry said he was “shocked” by the video images and passed his “sincere condolences to the boy’s mother”.

“He hopes that the investigations opened (…) will make it possible to shed light as quickly as possible on the exact circumstances of this tragedy,” his office said.

In 2022, a record 13 deaths were recorded after refusals to stop for traffic controls. Five police officers have been charged in these cases.

Authorities and police unions blame the 2022 figures on more dangerous driving behaviour, but researchers also point to a 2017 law modifying the conditions of the use of their weapon by the police.

Two weeks ago, a 19-year-old was killed by a police officer he had injured in the legs with his car in the western town of Angouleme.