French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin on Saturday announced the mobilisation of 45,000 police officers who will be deployed across France Saturday night. More than 2,000 people nationwide have been arrested for rioting over the killing of teenager Nahel M. by police, the interior ministry said Sunday. The victim was buried Saturday in his hometown of Nanterre where family and friends gathered to mourn. Follow our blog to see how the day's events unfolded. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).
- The 17-year-old victim, identified only as Nahel M., was shot at point-blank range by a police officer on Tuesday morning in the Paris suburb of Nanterre. He was driving a yellow Mercedes when he was pulled over for traffic violations.
- Police initially reported that he was shot after driving his car at police, but this was contradicted by a video that rapidly went viral across social media and was later authenticated by AFP. The footage shows the two policemen standing by the stationary car, with one pointing a weapon at the driver. A voice is heard saying, "You are going to get a bullet in the head." The police officer then appears to fire as the car abruptly drives off before gradually coming to a stop.
- The incident has sparked four nights of violent unrest in the capital and cities across France that have seen protesters clash with police.
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04:30am: American scholar draws parallels between France and the United States
Crystal Fleming, professor of Sociology and African Studies based at Stony Brook University in New York, speaks to FRANCE 24 about the underlying tensions felt by those who perceive prejudice in France.
Drawing parallels with the United States, Fleming highlights the rise of police shootings disproportionately targeting black French individuals of Arab or African descent.
"One of the differences with France is that there is a really deeply rooted denial of the cause of the specific killing of Nahel himself, but also these broader issues of discrimination," said Fleming.
Click on the video below to watch the interview in full.
04:15am: So far 486 arrests have been made across France
A total of 486 people were arrested in France as of 3:30 a.m. (0100 GMT) Sunday, the interior ministry said, though the level of violence appeared to have declined since rioting first broke out
"A calmer night thanks to the resolute action of the security forces," Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin tweeted early Sunday.
Darmanin had told reporters earlier that 45,000 members of the security forces would be deployed overnight -- the same number as the night before.
But extra forces and equipment were sent to Lyon, Grenoble and Marseille, which had previously seen intense rioting.
In Paris and its nearby regions, where around 7,000 officers were out in force, 194 people had been arrested as of 3:00 am Sunday.
In Marseille, police dispersed groups of youths Saturday evening at Canebiere, the main avenue running through the centre of the city, AFP journalists said.
By midnight, the authorities in Lyon and Marseille were reporting fewer incidents than the previous night, with 77 people arrested as of around 1:30 am in the two cities.
03:30am: Heavy clashes and looting in Marseille
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 Macron visited at the start of the week.
Authorities there went a step further by halting all urban transport from 6:00 pm, including metros, and banning all protests up until Sunday.
Police reinforcements have been sent to the city, including armoured vehicles and two helicopters.
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 Saturday that 30 percent of those arrested were minors, while Darmanin said the average age of those arrested was just 17.
02:47am: 322 arrested across France, says interior ministry
A total of 322 people have been arrested over unrest across France as of 1:30 am on Sunday, the interior ministry said, though violence sparked by the fatal police shooting of a teenager appeared to be declining.
Among those arrested were 126 people in the Paris region, 56 in Marseille and 21 in Lyon, according to a provisional tally.
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin had told reporters earlier that 45,000 members of the security forces would be deployed overnight Saturday to Sunday -- the same number as the night before.
But extra forces and equipment were sent to Lyon, Grenoble and Marseille, which had previously seen intense rioting.
In Paris and its nearby regions, where around 7,000 officers were out in force, 126 people had been arrested as of 1:30 am Sunday.
In Marseille, police dispersed groups of youths Saturday evening at Canebiere, the main avenue running through the centre of the city, AFP journalists said.
By midnight, the authorities in Lyon and Marseille were reporting fewer incidents than the previous night, with 56 and 21 people arrested in the two cities, respectively.
A number of towns have imposed overnight curfews.
10:31pm: France braces itself for more riots as nightfalls
As nightfalls, France is bracing itself for riots that have swepted across major cities such as Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Grenoble the past four nights.
In Paris, police cleared protesters from the Place de la Concorde and increased security at the city's landmark Champs Elysees avenue after a call on social media to gather there.
TV images and social media posts show shop facades covered with boards to prevent potential damage.
Meanwhile police forces deployed tear gas against rioters in Marseille's main high street around dusk on Saturday, according to a witness.
7:08pm: France to deploy 45,000 police officers nationwide Saturday night
French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin on Saturday announced the mobilisation of 45,000 police officers who will be deployed across the country Saturday night with a special focus on Lyon and Marseille.
After witnessing hours of rioting and looting on Friday night, Lyon mayor Grégory Doucet has called for additional police reinforcements to be sent to the city Saturday.
5:51pm: French finance minister calls on insurance companies to compensate quickly
The recent wave of riots across major French cities such as Lyon and Marseille has left its mark on local business as shops were broken into and goods were looted.
French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire on Saturday called on insurance companies to compensate quickly and lower deductibles for affected retailers and entrepreneurs.
"Compensation must arrive as quickly as possible," said Le Maire, adding that this includes roughly 250 tobacconists, 250 banks and 200 supermarkets.
"We have asked insurers to be as straightforward as possible in their handling of procedures," said Le Maire.
5:12pm: Bus and tramway services to end at 9pm in the Paris region, says RATP
The Parisian public transport operator RATP on Saturday announced that bus and tramway services are to be suspended from 9pm to ensure the safety of drivers, ticket inspectors and passengers.
"This safety measure is to be renewed every evening until new notice," RATP said in a tweet.
4:15pm: Riots raise questions about police's 'larger purpose' in France, says French academic Maroun
Four days of riots in France over the police shooting of a 17-year-teen for a traffic offence have raised questions about French police’s "larger purpose" in the country, says Daniel Nabil Maroun, Assistant Professor of French at the University of Illinois.
“I think there’s a contentious atmosphere currently, trying to understand what role police officers, gendarmes or just national security as a whole has inside of France,” Maroun told FRANCE 24.
“Is it more of a tool of a government? A president, prime minister, a political entity? Or is its purpose potentially geared towards understanding and protecting the citizens of France?
"And so from that perspective I believe we’ve arrived at another contentious moment inside of the country trying to understand the larger purpose of what police officers are supposed to be doing.”
Click on the video below to watch the interview in full.
2:40pm: Macron postpones state visit to Germany
French President Emmanuel Macron has postponed a state visit to Germany that was to begin on Sunday due to unrest in France, both countries announced on Saturday.
2:24pm: Lyon mayor calls for reinforcements
Lyon mayor Grégory Doucet has called for additional police reinforcements to be sent to the city after “unprecedented rioting”.
Lyon witnessed hours of riots, looting and damage in every arrondissement (district) of the city on Friday night. The police were sometimes “overwhelmed” and “insufficient in number", Doucet said.
The city "has been in the grip of riots of unprecedented intensity, damage and violence", he declared during a press briefing at the town hall following a crisis meeting.
1:40pm: Funeral for teen killed by police begins in western Paris suburb of Nanterre
FRANCE 24's Nadia Massih is in the western Paris suburb of Nanterre where the funeral for Nahel is being held.
Massih says there is "a real sense here that journalists should not be trusted", adding however that that anger is "nothing in comparison to the anger people feel towards the police".
12:00pm: 'What we haven’t heard is a discussion of the structural causes of all of this,' says lecturer in French politics Ariane Bogain
“What we’ve seen over the past few days is a lot of discourse about law and order, about restoring order, about how awful this violence is," Ariane Bogain, lecturer in French politics at Northumbria university, told FRANCE 24.
“What we haven’t heard is a discussion of the structural causes of all of this and a long-term solution from it by the authorities. So it’s very much framed as a violent uprising but what we really need to focus on is why it was created in the first place,” Bogain added.
“So I am really hoping – but not holding my breath – that after violence subsides we will have this discussion because this is a discussion that needs to happen."
Click on the video below to watch the interview in full.
11:23am: France arrests more than 1,300 people after fourth night of rioting
France's Interior Ministry said Saturday that 1,311 people were arrested around the country during a fourth night of riots triggered by the deadly shooting of a 17-year-old by police.
11:15am: Funeral for Nahel: 'This is going to be a really sombre day'
FRANCE 24’s Nadia Massih is in Nahel’s home town of Nanterre ahead of his funeral this morning.
"This is a day primarily for his family," said Massih, "For those who knew and loved Nahel, but we suspect that later on this afternoon there will be many more people out there today."
"Those who didn’t know him personally but have come out because of what he represented – a young man of North African descent, from a poor neighbourhood, killed as people here tell us, at point blank range, by police," she said.
Massih explained why Nahel’s killing had touched so many people in the neighbourhood.
"People here will tell you things like ‘Nahel could have been their brother, their son, their friend. It is a story that chimes with people here."
"People are telling me here this morning they don’t feel the police treats them with respect – they’re stopped and searched for no reason and that has been given extra credence by a statement from the UN human rights office, just yesterday, saying: ‘This should be a moment for France to look at how racial discrimination and racism plays out in the police'. So it’s going to be a really sombre day."
11:05am: Unrest in France: 'The response can’t only be increased policing'
The French government rejected on Friday accusations by the UN of racism among its police. In response to riots rocking cities across the country, 45,000 police were deployed.
“In the long term, I think there needs to be a much more constructive response,” lecturer in French Studies at Edinburgh University Fraser McQueen told FRANCE 24.
“The response can’t only be increased policing,” he said.
Click on the video below to watch the interview in full.
08:12am: French police arrest 994 people in fourth night of riots
French police arrested 994 people nationwide during a fourth consecutive night of rioting over the killing of a teenager by police, the interior ministry said Saturday.
France had deployed 45,000 officers overnight backed by light armoured vehicles and crack police units to quell the violence over the death of 17-year-old Nahel, killed during a traffic stop in a Paris suburb on Tuesday.
03:40am: Nahel's family asks for their privacy to be respected at the funeral on Saturday
The family of Nahel M. have requested that journalists and the public stay away from the funeral scheduled to take place in Nanterre on Saturday.
03:00am: Unrest spreads to French overseas terroritories
Riots have erupted in French Caribbean territories to protest the police shooting death of a teenager in a Paris suburb, with at least one person killed as people set fire to dumpsters and damaged buildings.
The worst violence so far was in French Guiana, where authorities said that police officers came under fire and that a stray bullet killed a 54-year-old government worker late Thursday in the capital, Cayenne.
Columns of thick black smoke rose above some neighboorhoods in Cayenne, turning streets hazy as police tried to quell protesters in the small territory on the shoulder of South America. Authorities urged calm as the territory braced for another possible night of rioting.
Officials said Friday that the man who was killed worked in the government’s mosquito control office and was on his balcony when he was hit by the bullet.
“(It’s) a level of violence that is difficult to understand,” Public Safety Director Philippe Jos told reporters.
French Guiana’s prefect, Thierry Queffelec, said businesses and public transportation would shut down early on Friday evening, and he announced a temporary ban on the sale and transportation of gasoline at night. He also said some 300 officers would be deployed Friday night along with drones and helicopters.
02:30am: Marseille amongst French cities worst hit by violence Friday night
Friday night's arrests included 80 people in the southern city of Marseille, France's second-largest.
Social media images showed an explosion rocking Marseille's old port area. City authorities said they were investigating the cause but did not believe there were any casualties.
Rioters in central Marseille looted a gun store and stole some hunting rifles but no ammunition, police said. One individual was arrested with a rifle likely from the store, police said. The store was now being guarded by police.
Key developments from Friday, June 30:
Despite the presence of security forces, looting took place Friday night in the cities of Lyon, Marseille and Grenoble, with bands of often hooded rioters pillaging shops.
Protesters also set fire to cars and trash bins.
But during a visit to Mantes-la-Jolie west of Paris, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said early Saturday morning that the night's violence had been of "much less intensity", with 994 arrests nationwide and pockets of tension in Marseille and Lyon in particular.
President Emmanuel Macron left early from an EU summit in Brussels on Friday to return to France. Addressing a crisis meeting of ministers, he said "additional means" would be mobilised by the interior ministry to deal with the violent protests.
He urged parents to take responsibility for underage rioters, one-third of whom were "young or very young".
He also denounced the "unacceptable exploitation of a death of an adolescent" in some quarters and vowed to work with social networks to curb "copycat violence" spread via services such as TikTok and Snapchat.
Read yesterday's liveblog to see how all the day's events unfolded.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, Reuters and AP)
