Rioting continued to escalate in cities across France for a fourth consecutive night, despite a massive police presence and over 1,300 arrests. Streets were filled with violence as cars were set on fire, buildings were engulfed in flames, and looting took place in stores. These disturbances were sparked by the killing of a 17-year-old by the police, and as the nation prepared to lay the teen to rest, the unrest showed no signs of abating.
The French Interior Ministry reported a total of 1,311 arrests made throughout the country, as 45,000 police officers were deployed in an attempt to quell the violence with little success. President Emmanuel Macron urged parents to keep their children at home, but clashes between young protesters and the police persisted. Authorities revealed that approximately 2,500 fires were set and there were numerous incidents of store ransacking.
The funeral service for the deceased teenager, known only as Nahel, began on Saturday, starting with a viewing of the open coffin for family and friends. The coffin will later be taken to a mosque for a ceremony and burial in a local cemetery. While the number of arrests continued to rise, the government expressed some optimism that the violence was gradually subsiding due to heightened security measures. Nevertheless, the extensive damage was not limited to specific cities, stretching from Paris to Marseille, Lyon, and even French territories overseas, where a tragic incident occurred resulting in the death of a 54-year-old due to a stray bullet.
The national soccer team of France, including popular player Kylian Mbappe, who is idolized by many young people from disadvantaged neighborhoods, issued a statement pleading for an end to the violence. They emphasized that violence does not solve anything and encouraged peaceful and constructive means of expression. The eruption of anger in the Paris suburb following Nahel’s death quickly spread throughout the nation. This incident reignited long-standing tensions between the police and young people in low-income communities who face poverty, unemployment, and racial discrimination.
The ongoing riots represent the most intense unrest witnessed in France in years and place significant pressure on President Macron, who attributed the amplification of violence to social media. Historically, race has been a forbidden subject in France, which officially adheres to a colorblind universalism doctrine. However, following Nahel’s killing, activists advocating for racial equality voiced renewed grievances regarding police behavior. Last year alone, French police fatally shot thirteen individuals who failed to comply with traffic stops, and this year, three more deaths occurred under similar circumstances. These incidents have prompted calls for increased accountability in France, particularly in the wake of the global protests for racial justice sparked by George Floyd’s killing in Minnesota.
In response to the escalating crisis, President Macron refrained from declaring a state of emergency, a measure employed during similar situations in 2005. Instead, his government has intensified law enforcement efforts by deploying a large number of police officers. Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin issued a nationwide nighttime shutdown of all public buses and trams, which have become targets of the rioters. Additionally, he warned social media platforms not to allow themselves to be exploited as channels for inciting violence.
(Note: The HTML tags and JavaScript code have been removed as they are not applicable to the rewritten content.)
Denial of responsibility! VigourTimes is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
