Riots and unrest broke out across France after police shot dead a 17-year-old boy of Algerian descent last Tuesday in the Paris suburb of Nanterre.
Photos taken yesterday in Paris show that several stores on the Champs-Élysées have shielded their windows. At ten in the evening, riot police are swarming near Riemukaari. The French media reported that the tram and bus service in Paris ended at 9 p.m. yesterday.
Last night, France was prepared for the fifth night of continuous riots by hiring a total of 45,000 police to patrol around the country. At least in Paris, a large contingent of riot police seemed to quell the unrest.
The riots started on Tuesday, when the police shot dead 17-year-old Nahel M of Algerian background. The boy did not stop during the traffic control, and the police shot directly at him. A video was recorded of the event. The shooting took place in Nanterre, a suburb of Paris.
The boy’s death at the hands of the police brought to the surface a long-standing discussion about police violence and structural racism in France.
Last night was calmer than the previous ones
The rioting and disturbances last night were less than the previous nights, and compared to the previous four nights, the night was calm. There were still riots all over France: in Paris, Marseille, Nice and Strasbourg. The strongest clashes were in Marseille, where the police used tear gas on the protesters.
427 rioters were arrested last night, tweeted the Minister of the Interior by Gérald Darman.
Nahel M’s funeral was held on Saturday in Nanterre.
Nahel’s death was already the third fatal shooting in connection with a traffic control in France this year. Last year there were 13 similar cases.
According to Reuters, since 2017, most of the victims of such shootings have been black or Arab.
Sources: BFMTV, BBC, Reuters, Le Monde