Protests and unrest raged for another night in France, following the police shooting death of a teenager earlier this week.
It has burned in many cities and nearly 1,000 people have been deprived of their liberty.
– It is still very violent, says reporter Jennifer Paterson directly from the south of France.
The violent protests have taken place as a result of a high-profile case in which a 17-year-old boy was stopped and shot dead by police officers.
Unrest has occurred in several places in the country despite the fact that 45,000 police officers had been deployed to stop the extensive riots of the past 24 hours.
During the night to Saturday, close to 1,000 people were arrested, according to a first estimate that the French Ministry of the Interior made this morning.
More than 2,500 fires have ravaged the country, according to its tally.
Help on the way
In the southern French port city of Marseille, the situation had escalated to such an extent that the mayor, Benoît Payan, appealed for reinforcements on Friday night.
“The scenes we see of looting and violence are unacceptable,” said Benoît Payan.
– Apocalyptic scenes, says TV4’s Jennifer Paterson, who is on the ground in France.
– The state is getting ready for more.
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin announced overnight that the police reinforcements requested by Marseille’s mayor are on their way.
Police fired tear gas at youths who threw objects at police cars in the city’s old port area, which is a popular tourist destination.
Also in Lyon and Grenoble there were reports during the evening and night of gangs of armed rioters going around setting fire to cars and rubbish bins and looting shops.
The Republic wins
During the visit to Mantes-la-Jolie last night, Minister of the Interior Darmanin told the television channel BFM-TV that the night of Saturday had generally been calmer than both Friday and Thursday. He was also very firm about how the riots of the past days will end.
– It is the republic that will win, not the rioters, said Darmanin.
He also noted and lamented that many of the rioters are as young as 13–14 years old.
– They should of course be at home and not hang out on the streets, said the Minister of the Interior.
Fact: That’s why the riots started
Two motorcycle police officers stop a car in the Paris suburb of Nanterre on Tuesday, June 27, and the 17-year-old driver, named in French media as Nahel, is shot at close range in the chest and dies.
The police initially stated that the shots had been fired because the 17-year-old was driving the car towards the officers, but a video clip that is spreading on social media shows that the police’s first version is not correct.
“You’re going to get a bullet in the head,” one of the two motorcycle cops is heard shouting in the clip. They stand next to the car and the gun is aimed through the driver’s seat window. A shot fires off, whereupon the car accelerates rapidly and crashes into a pole some distance away. The driver dies shortly afterwards.
The 38-year-old police officer who is seen holding the gun in the clip is later arrested, suspected of the corresponding murder.
The fatal shooting revives the debate about police violence and discrimination against people in France’s low-income areas.
(TT)