French authorities on July 1 (Saturday) prepared for a fifth consecutive night of rioting by sending reinforcements to flashpoint cities as the 17-year-old whose killing by a policeman sparked the violent protests was laid to rest.
Police arrested 1,311 people overnight Friday to Saturday, the highest figure since the violent protests began over the point-blank killing by a policeman of Nahel M. in the Paris suburb of Nanterre on Tuesday.
Shops were ransacked and town halls attacked in various locations nationwide by gangs, often made up of teens organised on social media and armed with fireworks.
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin told reporters that 45,000 members of the security forces would be deployed overnight Saturday to Sunday — the same number as the night before — but with additional forces and equipment sent to Lyon, Grenoble and Marseille which saw the worst rioting the previous night.
Numbers would be “considerably reinforced” in these cities “in order to completely restore republican order”, Mr. Darmanin said.
The protests over the death of the teen, who was of Algerian origin, have again exposed the severe racial tensions in modern France and increased scrutiny on the police who have long been accused of singling out minorities.
The crisis is a hugely unwelcome development for President Emmanuel Macron, who was looking forward to pressing on with his second mandate after seeing off protests that erupted in January over raising the pensions age.
In a sign of the seriousness of the crisis, he postponed a state visit to Germany scheduled to begin Sunday.
In Pictures | Unrest in France
The mother of killed 17-year-old Nahel, at left on truck, gestures during a march for Nahel, on June 29, 2023 in Nanterre, outside Paris. The killing of Nahel during a traffic check Tuesday, captured on video, shocked the country and stirred up long-simmering tensions between young people and police in housing projects and other disadvantaged neighborhoods around France.
Firefighters use a water hose on a burnt bus in Nanterre, outside Paris, France, on July 1, 2023. French President Emmanuel Macron urged parents Friday to keep teenagers at home and proposed restrictions on social media to quell rioting spreading across France over the fatal police shooting of a 17-year-old driver.
People demonstrate in Concorde on June 30, 2023 in Paris, France.
Firefighters extinguish an overturned burning car after clashes erupted during a memorial march for French teenager Nahel, shot by police during a traffic control stop several days ago, on June 29, 2023 in Nanterre, France.
A container burns as people protest following the death of Nahel, in Paris, France, on June 30, 2023
Protesters clash with police, following the death of Nahel in Nanterre, Paris suburb, France, on June 29, 2023.
PARIS, FRANCE – JUNE 30: People demonstrate in Concorde on June 30, 2023 in Paris, France.
A group of police officers walk during a protest in Nanterre, outside Paris, France, on July 1, 2023.
Protesters hold a banner which reads “Rest in peace, Nahel” as they attend a march in tribute to Nahel, in Nanterre, Paris suburb, France, on June 29, 2023.
A firefighter extinguishes fire from a car, burnt during night clashes between protesters and police at the Alma district in Roubaix, northern France, on June 30, 2023.
People look at a building of the Tessi group, burnt during night clashes between protesters and police at the Alma district in Roubaix, northern France, on June 30, 2023.
Youth light flares on Concorde square during a protest in Paris, France, Friday, on June 30, 2023.
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The German Presidency announced that Mr. Macron spoke by telephone with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier “and informed him of the situation in his country”.
Nahel’s funeral ceremony began in the Paris suburb of Nanterre where he lived, with a large crowd gathering in a tense atmosphere with the youths present not wanting their faces photographed by media, an AFP reporter said.
A ceremony took place in the early afternoon at the mosque in Nanterre with the interment taking place in the giant Mont Valerien cemetery in the area.
It finished at 1530 GMT and was marked by “reflection and without incidents”, a witness told AFP.
In a rare intervention on a social issue, the French national football team, many of whose top players are of minority background, joined calls for an end to the clashes.
“The time of violence must give way to that of mourning, dialogue and reconstruction,” the team said in a statement posted on social media by captain and Paris Saint-Germain superstar Kylian Mbappe.
In a bid to limit the violence, buses and trams in France have stopped running after 9:00 p.m. (1900 GMT) and the sale of large fireworks and inflammable liquids has been banned.
The southern port city of Marseille has been the scene of clashes and looting from the centre and further north in the long-neglected low-income neighbourhoods that Mr. Macron visited at the start of the week.
Authorities in Marseille are going a step further by halting all urban transport from 6:00 p.m., including metros, and banning all protests up until Sunday.
Police reinforcements have been sent to the city, including armoured vehicles and two helicopters.
Mr. Macron has urged parents to take responsibility for underage rioters, one-third of whom were “young or very young”.
Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti said on Saturday that 30% of those arrested were minors while Mr. Darmanin said the average age of those arrested was just 17.
The unrest has raised concerns abroad, with France hosting the Rugby World Cup in the autumn and the Paris Olympic Games in the summer of 2024.
Britain and other European countries updated their travel advice to warn tourists to stay away from areas affected by the rioting.
The unrest has had a major impact on cultural events in France with singer Mylene Farmer forced to cancel stadium concerts and French fashion house Celine cancelling its menswear show in Paris scheduled for this weekend.
A 38-year-old policeman has been charged with voluntary homicide over the teenager’s death and has been remanded in custody.
The UN rights office said on Friday that the killing of the teen of North African descent was “a moment for the country to seriously address the deep issues of racism and racial discrimination in law enforcement”.
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