More than 700 people handed prison sentences over French riots

Youths clash with police forces on 29 June in Nanterre – the western banlieue where Nahel Merzouk was shot dead by an officer two days before. AP - Christophe Ena

Some 742 people have been sentenced to prison over the recent urban violence in France, the country's justice minister said Wednesday, lauding the "firm" response of magistrates.

In total, 1,278 verdicts have been handed down, with over 95 percent of defendants convicted on a range of charges from vandalism to attacking police officers.