Rioting raged in cities around France for a fourth consecutive night despite massive police deployment, with cars and buildings set ablaze and stores looted. This comes as family and friends prepare to bury the 17-year-old whose killing by police on Tuesday unleashed the unrest.
According to the Ministry of the Interior, French police arrested 994 people nationwide overnight Friday after having deployed some 45,000 officers 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.
Despite the increase in arrests, the ministry has suggested the violence was beginning to lessen thanks to tougher security measures, however damage remained widespread – from Paris to Marseille to Lyon and French territories overseas – where a 54-year-old died after being hit by a stray bullet in French Guiana.
France’s national football team – including international star Kylian Mbappé, an idol to many young people in the disadvantaged neighborhoods where the anger is rooted – pleaded for an end to the violence.
— Kylian Mbappé (@KMbappe) June 30, 2023
In a statement, the players said: “Many of us are from working-class neighbourhoods, we too share this feeling of pain and sadness” over the killing of 17-year-old Nahel.
“Violence resolves nothing ... There are other peaceful and constructive ways to express yourself.”
They added it's time for “mourning, dialogue and reconstruction” instead.
Macron blames social media for fomenting violence
The fatal shooting of Nahel, whose last name has not been made public, stirred up long-simmering tensions between police and young people in housing projects who struggle with poverty, unemployment and racial discrimination.
The police officer accused of killing Nahel was handed a preliminary charge of voluntary homicide
The subsequent rioting is the worst France has seen in years and puts new pressure on President Emmanuel Macron, who appealed to parents to keep children off the streets and blamed social media for fuelling violence.
#ViolencesUrbaines | Grâce à la mobilisation des forces de sécurité intérieure sur tout le territoire national, les violences commises cette nuit ont été d’une plus faible intensité en comparaison à la nuit précédente.
— Ministère de l'Intérieur et des Outre-mer (@Interieur_Gouv) July 1, 2023
Retrouvez le bilan provisoire. ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/c6LcpPTZCO
Hundreds of police and firefighters have been injured, including 79 overnight, but the authorities have not released injury tallies for protesters.
Meanwhile, Nahel's family and friends are holding a funeral gathering this Saturday in his hometown of Nanterre.
The violence comes just over a year before Paris and other French cities are due to host 10,500 athletes and millions of visitors for the summer Olympic Games.
Organisers said they are closely monitoring the situation as preparations for the Olympics continue.
