Many foreign media closely follow the events in France after Nahel’s death. They point in particular to the “explosive” atmosphere and a new “challenge” for Emmanuel Macron.
Three days after the death of Nahel killed by a policeman in Nanterre on Tuesday, France is in the headlines”. For the third consecutive night, public buildings were degraded, shops looted, vehicles burned… The forces of the order made 667 arrests, announced in a tweet Gérald Darmanin, who mentioned “a rare violence“. .
>> Death of Nahel: follow the situation in France live
These riots, which put pressure on the executive, in the first place the Minister of the Interior, intervene one year before the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris and the foreign media are numerous to follow the urban violence.
Europe is worried about the “French volcano”
The events in France are thus on the front page of the site of the British daily The Guardian which points in particular “fractured social relations” and the “deep distrust of the police”. And the London newspaper estimates that these riots are above all the language of those who are not heard: “Rage is cumulative”. The same goes for the Swiss daily Le Temps, which analyzes its riots as a “addition of anger” : from yellow vests, to the suburbs of big cities, through pension reform.
The filmed death of the teenager has “reignited deep fractures in the country”, reports for its part the Spanish daily El Paisand not just any: “One of those fractures that never quite close: that of the suburbs”. There Vangardia, she talks about “the eruption of the French volcano”.
“Electrical situation” in Belgium
“Even the speed of the investigation did not calm the spirits” And “explosive atmosphere” reports The evening, in Belgium, a neighboring country in which the riots seem to have spread to Brussels. The Free thus speaks of a “electrical condition” in the Anneesens district with a “strong police presence”. According to the police, “messages circulated on social media calling for riots in Brussels in analogy to events in France.”
“President Macron sends more riot police to the suburbs every night“, writes the Austrian daily The Standard which concludes:Prospects are not good“. And many foreign newspapers wonder, like the Repubblica in Italy: will President Emmanuel Macron establish a state of emergency, while France “bubbles“, according to the expression of the Italian daily.
The French “paradox”
In the same tone, the New York Times speaks of a “challenge” for Emmanuel Macron, while the French economy is improving, ensuring that the death of George Floyd, an African-American, killed by a white police officer in Minneapolis in 2020, “left an indelible impression in France”.
For the major American daily, the French president is faced with a delicate “balancing act“, as summarized by the American daily, thus pointing to a paradox. These riots come as the French economy is doing better, as evidenced by robust growth and a historically low unemployment rate, notes the American newspaper. “France, more than any other western societycontinues the New York Times, is fractured between its urban elites who benefit from growth and the poor, racially mixed suburbs where schools are underfunded and horizons are blocked.”
“And meanwhile…”
For its part, the Russian media platform Smotrim estimate that “the extent of these riots” has already “exceeded all those of recent years”, without failing to highlight that during this time, “Emmanuel Macron and his wife attended an Elton John concert in Paris”.
Other short articles convey false information, as this screenshot indicates, stating that “For the first time since the Second World War, alarm sirens are sounding in France”what is wrong.
Finally, on Friday, Norway called on its nationals currently in France to avoid crowd gatherings. “There have been riots in several places in France in recent days, including in Paris“, writes the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a text message sent to Norwegian travelers who have checked in on an app from the authorities.Norwegian travelers are advised to take all necessary precautions, as well as stay away from large crowds and demonstrations“, he specifies.
In the night from Thursday to Friday, the police carried out 875 arrests, announced the Ministry of the Interior.