The clerks were on strike in the Nanterre courthouse, so the accused burglars, homeless thieves and domestic abusers had to wait. It was 5 p.m. by the time Yanis Linize was ushered into the courtroom, a few blocks from the traffic circle where young Nahel Merzouk was shot by a policeman just a week ago, setting off protests across the country. A bike courier from a southern suburb of Paris, Mr. Linize was swept up in the anger and emotion that erupted over the death, and the widespread perception that racial discrimination had played a role in it. He faced charges of issuing death threats to police and of promoting damage to public property. “I was angry because of everything that is happening,” Mr. Linize, 20, told the panel of three black-robed judges before him.

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Persons: Linize, Nahel Merzouk, ” Mr, “, Merzouk’s Locations: Nanterre, Paris