fourth consecutive night of clashes, the Blues call for calm

For the fourth consecutive night, clashes with the police and damage have shaken many neighborhoods and city centers since the death on Tuesday June 27 of young Nahel, killed by a police officer during a traffic check.

” The time of violence must end to give way to that of mourning, dialogue and reconstruction “, urged the players of the French football team in reference to the riots, in a text relayed Friday June 30 by captain Kylian Mbappé. The Blues, say to themselves ” scarred and shocked by the brutal death of young Nahel » and launch a « call for appeasement, awareness and accountability “, ensuring that violence must give way to ” other peaceful and constructive ways to express yourself “.

Since the death of Nahel, public buildings, schools, shops… have been the target of the anger of young residents of working-class neighborhoods and set on fire in many cities in France, recalling the riots which shook France in 2005 after the death of two teenagers chased by the police. During the night of June 29 to 30, 492 buildings were targeted, 2,000 vehicles burned and dozens of stores looted, despite the arrest of nearly 900 people during the night.

Friday, June 30 in the afternoon, scattered incidents broke out in Rosny-sous-Bois and in a shopping center Creteilnear Paris, but also in the city center of Strasbourgwhere an Apple Store was vandalized and 33 people arrested, according to the Bas-Rhin prefecture.

Robbery in an armory in Marseille

Later in the evening it is Marseilles which was again shaken by clashes. The police announced at least 63 arrests around 10:45 p.m. among small groups, very mobile, face masked, some of which “ attempt looting on several arteries. Two police officers were slightly injured. Many groups of young people, very mobile “, launched projectiles at the police, in particular on the famous artery of the center, La Canebière, while several signs were looted.

On one side of the street, a young man, silent, carries a cardboard sign: “In memory of Nahel”. “ We are angry for what happened with Nahel », say two young girls who have come, but do not participate in the throwing of projectiles. Sometimes a few young boys run by, new clothes still on hangers and the “sales” label visible. Several shops were looted, including that of the luxury brand Lancel. A few hunting weapons were also stolen from an armory, but without ammunition, according to the police headquarters.

Curiously, a few meters away, fishermen sit by the water’s edge on the Old Port and a couple share a pizza. Tourists from London, Sam and Emily, 19, say to each other ” shocked “.

In the evening, the mayor of Marseille, Benoît Payan, asked “ the immediate dispatch of additional law enforcement forces in the face of violence and looting in France’s second city. A CRS company should arrive in the night. The Ministry of the Interior had announced earlier in the evening the arrival of a RAID special forces surveillance plane.

RAID and BRI deployed in Lyon

Clashes also took place between demonstrators and law enforcement on Friday evening in front of the Hôtel de Ville in Lyons, at the start of a rally against police violence, banned by the Rhône prefecture. The demonstrators however flocked around 8 p.m. to the city center, reaching 1,300 people, according to the prefecture. ” No peace, no justice », « Darmanin resignation », « Land and suburban uprisings », « racist font », « For Nahel chanted the crowd bringing together far-left activists, but also residents of Lyon and the suburbs of Lyon. The security forces responded with tear gas to fireworks fired by hooded demonstrators. The regional press reports cars overturned and set on fire.

Groups of young people, some wearing hoods, some armed with fireworks or iron bars, took their time to loot several shops in the pedestrian streets of the city center and light trash fires, quickly dispersing in the streets. streets in the event of an approach announcement by the police. On foot, on scooters or on bicycles, several dozen boarded video games, bottles, underwear, shoes after smashing windows, shouting for joy.

AT Venissieuxsouth of Lyon, the CRS were attacked by dozens of people, and the clashes also won Villeurbanneat the gates of Lyon, according to the prefecture, which reported 31 arrests in the middle of the evening in the agglomeration.

RAID has also been deployed to Lille in front of the city’s main police station, where fires were lit in the early evening.

At the same time, at Grenoblehundreds of hooded young people were able to rob many downtown stores, including clothing and telephone stores, before a late intervention by the police.

AT St Etienneseveral hundred young people, many wearing surgical masks, smashed shop windows with rocks or metal objects, and entered several clothing, optical and jewelry shops to loot them.

Demonstrations “against racism” prohibited

Demonstrations ” against racism, crimes and police violence “Were also banned Friday evening in Paris, in the center of Marseille, Lyon, Bordeaux, or Toulouse. But several hundred people marched despite everything, especially in Montpellier, at the call of several leftist movements with placards. In the capital, the police evacuated in the evening a hundred people gathered at Place de la Concorde.

Dozens of police vans were thus positioned not far from the entrance to the Vieux Pont district in Nanterreothers posted near the shopping district of Les Halles in the heart of Paris, the scene of looting the previous night.

Enhanced security

The authorities further strengthened their resources on Friday to try to stem the cycle of violence, looting and destruction that sporadically shakes many cities in the country. At the end of a second interministerial crisis committee in two days, Gérald Darmanin announced the mobilization “ exceptional of 45,000 police and gendarmes to avoid a fourth consecutive night of riots. To these numbers, up slightly from the previous night, are added the deployment of Gendarmerie armored vehicles and the continued use of elite units such as the GIGN to prevent the violence during which the day before.

President Emmanuel Macron, who cut short his stay in Brussels on Friday morning, called for families to be responsible as the youth of the perpetrators of the violence struck a chord. The death of Nahel, whose family is from Algeria, has revived the subject of police violence, in a country where 13 people died after a police check last year.

(With AFP)

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