police violence
More unrest in France – funeral in the afternoon
Protesters block a street with rubbish bins in Colombes, outside Paris. photo
© Lewis Joly/AP
According to the French interior minister, the night’s riots have been less violent. News from Marseille speak a different language. The afternoon holds again special explosives.
Looting, fires, violence: nightly riots again France in suspense. According to a preliminary report by the Ministry of the Interior, 1,311 people were arrested on Saturday night – significantly more than in the previous nights. 406 people were arrested in Paris alone. 79 police officers were injured. There were significantly more the night before.
The riots were triggered by the death of a 17-year-old during a police check on Tuesday. A motorcycle patrol in Nanterre near Paris stopped 17-year-old Nahel at the wheel of a car in the morning. When the young man suddenly drove off, a deadly shot was fired from the police officer’s service weapon. The police officer responsible for Nahel’s death was taken into custody. A formal investigation into manslaughter was initiated against him. The incident caused consternation across the country, and France has been shaken by violent riots ever since.
1350 cars burned out
French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said early in the morning that the violence that night was “less intense” than before. He deployed 45,000 police officers nationwide at night, including special forces. But despite the massive police presence with armored vehicles and helicopters, fires and looting broke out in many places. According to the Interior Ministry, 1,350 cars burned out. There were a total of 2,560 fires on public roads. In addition, 31 police stations were attacked. According to the authorities, 1,900 cars had burned out the previous night.
While things seemed to be quieter in the Paris area than in the previous nights, the situation in southern France came to a head. According to media reports, an armory was looted in Marseille and seven rifles were stolen. The police union Alliance Police spoke on the television channel franceinfo of a “night full of chaos with scenes of unprecedented violence against the police, looting, mortar fire.” A post office exploded in Lyon. City halls were torched across the country.
From the afternoon, all eyes will be on Nanterre, the hometown of the 17-year-old who was shot near Paris. He is to be buried there. According to media reports, the family does not want journalists at the funeral. Observers fear that the funeral could heat up the climate again.