France prepares for violence as funeral begins of boy shot by officer

2023-07-01

France prepares for more violence: Police say ‘we are at war’ after marauding gangs looted guns and went on rampage and Brits are warned of dangers on travelling as funeral begins of 17-year-old boy shot dead by officer

President Macron has been warned that riots could become ‘widespread’
The funeral for Nahel, 17, killed by police Tuesday, will take place later today

France is preparing for a possible fifth day of rioting as the family of Nahel M., whose shooting by a police officer sparked the unrest, prepared for the teenager’s funeral.

The government deployed 45,000 police and several armoured vehicles overnight to tackle the worst crisis of President Emmanuel Macron’s leadership since the Yellow Vest protests.

France’s interior ministry said 1,311 people had been arrested Friday, compared with 875 the previous night, in violence which it said on Twitter was ‘lower in intensity’.

Nahel, a 17-year-old of Algerian and Moroccan descent, was shot during a traffic stop on Tuesday in the French capital’s Nanterre suburb. A private funeral was due to be held later today.

Roads leading to the funeral parlour and the cemetery would be shut off, it was reported.

Nahel’s death, caught on video, has reignited longstanding complaints by poor and racially mixed urban communities of police violence and racism. Macron had denied there is systemic racism inside French law enforcement agencies.

It comes as Britain’s Foreign Office issued an alert to the two million Britons set to travel to France over the summer, with officials now imploring tourists to take out travel insurance as they claim it is more important than ever.

Emergency personnel survey the scene of a burnt out building – which housed a pharmacy – in Montargis s this morning, which was set alight overnight during continuing protests

A group of police officers walk as people protest following the death of Nahel, a 17-year-old teenager killed by a French police officer

A man gestures next to a burning container in Paris as protests grip France yet again

Firefighters extinguish fires set on trash cans under riot police’s protection following looting and violent demonstrations over night

Mounia, mother of the French teenager killed by police, waves to the crowds during a memorial march for her son Nahel on Thursday

Macron is now facing calls to impose a state of emergency after the marauding gangs of rioters – some armed with stolen rifles – clashed with police again on Thursday night.

Looters ransacked some of France’s major cities as local police declared they were now at ‘war’ with ‘savage hordes of vermin’ – with officers from two of the country’s biggest policing unions now threatening to revolt.

17-year-old Nahel (pictured) was shot dead by French police during a traffic stop, Tuesday

France’s national football team – including international star Kylian Mbappe, an idol to many young people in the disadvantaged neighbourhoods where the anger is rooted – have pleaded for an end to the violence.

‘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, the players said in a statement.

‘Violence resolves nothing.

‘There are other peaceful and constructive ways to express yourself.’

They said it is time for ‘mourning, dialogue and reconstruction’ instead.

The deadly 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 subsequent rioting is the worst France has seen in years and puts new pressure on Macron, who appealed to parents to keep children off the streets and blamed social media for fuelling violence.

But last night saw continued riots were looters were seen rampaging through the streets of Marseille, Lille and Paris, amid claims some broke into a gun shop and stole hunting rifles while others ransacked a police station. Cars, buses and government buildings have been set alight and fireworks have been launched at police.

There were more than 3,800 fires on public roads last night, while more than 500 buildings were set alight.

A tear gas is thrown as people protest against the death of 17-year-old Nahel, who was shot in the chest by police in Nanterre on Tuesday

Emergency workers put out the flames on a vehicle set on fire during violent protests over night

Firefighters extinguish a bus burned during clashes between protesters and riot police in Nanterre, near Paris

Smoke rises after violent protests swept France again last night as emergency services scrambled to act amid the clashes

Raid policemen arrest a man during clashes with police on the Lyon streets as violence continues to erupt in France

Last night, firefighters were seen desperately hosing down a burnt bus as unrest continued in France

Emmanuel Macron green lit the use of armoured vehicles and riot police, as 45,000 officers were deployed in a desperate attempt to regain control. But the French president has been blasted for not acting fast enough.

Eric Ciotti, the head of the Republicans party said his country ‘is on the edge of a precipice’ and that ‘we must wage a merciless war against violence and proclaim a state of emergency in all affected areas’, the Telegraph reported, as he launched a political broadside against Macron.

Domestic intelligence seen by French newspaper Le Monde has also warned the president that riots could become increasingly ‘widespread’ and continue for the ‘coming nights’.

French police have said that they are currently ‘at war’ with ‘savage hordes of vermin’, The Telegraph reported after violence continued throughout the evening.

Two of the country’s biggest police unions have threatened a revolt unless Mr Macron restores order.

They said: ‘Today the police are in combat as we are at war. Tomorrow we will be in resistance and the government should be aware of this.’

Firefighters were called to several sites to put out fires as France was lit up in the wake of more protests

There were more than 3,800 fires on public roads last night, while more than 500 buildings were set alight

A protester walks by a burning car during clashes with police in Le Port, French Indian Ocean island of La Reunion, on June 30

A firefighter puts out the flames on a torched car amid another night of protests in Paris, France

Firefighters put out the flames on a vehicle set on fire during violent protests last night

Police officers wait in front of a looted shop as they patrol in Lyon streets during violent protests on Friday night

Officers inspect a looted shop after violent riots swept France again last night

A person passes by a looted shop in a Lyon street during violent protests over night

The comments come off the back of claims by the unions, Alliance Police, Nationale and UNSA Police suggested that the response so far from Mr Macron’s government had been far too weak.

They wrote: ‘Faced with these savage hordes, calling for calm is no longer sufficient, it must be imposed!’

At least 1,311 people are thought to have been arrested by law enforcement officers across the country last night.

Tensions between youths and police have reached boiling point, with the French journalists reporting that the elite tactical unit, RAID, has been deployed in areas of the country to try and halt the violence.

British tourists were today warned about travelling in France as the country imposed curfews and traffic shutdowns to try and quell nationwide rioting.

The Foreign Office on Friday updated its travel advice as a response to the violence, saying: ‘Some local authorities may impose curfews. Locations and timing of riots are unpredictable.

‘You should monitor the media, avoid areas where riots are taking place, check the latest advice with operators when travelling and follow the advice of the authorities.’

Widespread looting has also taken place in Marseille, with France Bleu Provence reporting that four hunting rifles were stolen from an armory during the riots in Marseille.

Firefighters extinguish a bus burned during clashes between protesters and riot police in Nanterre

France deployed 45,000 officers backed by light armoured vehicles to tackle a fourth straight night of violent protests on Friday night

A firefighters walks by a vehicle set on fire during violent protests in Tours, France

A woman is searched by riot police as people protest near Opera Garnier in Paris

Protesters set a container on fire amid the unrest in France following the death of a teenager

A group of police officers walk during a protest in Nanterre, outside Paris, France, Saturday, July 1

At least 1,311 people are thought to have been arrested by law enforcement officers since last night

A riot policeman walks past two burnt out vehicle as rioters set France on fire yet again

French riot police officers patrol during a demonstration in Caen, north-western France. French President Emmanuel Macron has announced measures including more police and urged parents to keep minors off the streets as he battled to contain nightly riots.

The store manager describes having seen ’30 determined kids’ and assures that his stock ‘is no longer secure’, however, police have said that no ammunition was taken.

One individual was arrested with a rifle likely coming from the store, police said. The store was now being guarded by police.

Authorities earlier banned demonstrations in the city set for Friday, and encouraged restaurants to close outdoor areas early. They said public transport would stop at 7 pm

‘The next hours will be decisive and I know I can count on your flawless efforts,’ Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin wrote to firefighters and police officers, seeking to quell the unrest that has been breaking out after nightfall.

He asked local authorities to halt bus and tram traffic from 9pm (1900 GMT) across France and later said 45,000 officers from the police forces would be deployed on Friday evening, 5,000 more than on Thursday.

Armed police officers stand guard during riots following the death of Nahel, a 17-year-old teenager killed by a French police

Protesters run from launched tear gas canisters during clashes with police in Lyon, south-eastern France

Protesters clash with CRS riot police at the Porte d’Aix in Marseille, southern France yesterday

French anti-riot police officers stand guard after a group of protesters lit fires in Bordeaux

British tourists were today warned about travelling in France as the country imposed curfews and traffic shutdowns to try and quell nationwide rioting

Rioters rampaged through the streets of France for a fourth night. The map above shows where the main incidents took place

Asked on TF1’s main evening television news programme whether the government could declare a state of emergency, Darmanin said: ‘Quite simply, we’re not ruling out any hypothesis and we’ll see after tonight what the President of the Republic chooses.’

Macron reportedly left a European Union summit in Brussels early to chair a second cabinet crisis meeting – the French equivalent of a Cobra meeting – in two days.

He has asked social media to remove ‘the most sensitive’ footage of rioting and to disclose identities of users fomenting violence.

The French president told parents to keep their children at home after it emerged young people accounted for a third of the arrests made.

He said: ‘It is the parents’ responsibility to keep them at home and therefore it’s important for everyone’s peace of mind that parental responsibility is fully exercised. It’s not the republic’s job to replace fathers and mothers.’

Darmanin met representatives from Meta, Twitter, Snapchat and TikTok.

Snapchat said it had zero tolerance for content that promoted violence. A friend of the victim’s family, Mohamed Jakoubi, who watched Nahel grow up, said the rage was fuelled by a sense of injustice after incidents of police violence against minority ethnic communities, many from former French colonies.

‘We are fed up, we are French too. We are against violence, we are not scum,’ he said.

Mr Macron said social media was fuelling copycat violence, and that platforms such as Snapchat and TikTok needed to remove ‘the most sensitive content’.

He said: ‘We sometimes have the feeling that some young people are living in the streets of the video games that have intoxicated them.’

The President also urged parents to keep teenagers at home, rather than let them out looking for trouble.

French riot police stand guard during clashes in Lyon

A protester moves a metal barrier during a demonstration in Caen

Tensions have spilled into other cities after tensions reached boiling point today

Firefighters put out a burning car during protests in Lille

‘It is the parents’ responsibility to keep them at home,’ said Mr Macron. ‘And therefore, it is important for everyone’s peace of mind that parental responsibility can be fully exercised.’

Fresh pleas from French footballing icon Kylian Mbappe have also called on protesters to stop the chaos, saying that there are ‘other peaceful and constructive ways to express yourself’.

The PSG forward issued a statement which read: ”Violence solves nothing, even less when it inevitably and tirelessly turns against those who express it, their families, loved ones and neighbours.

‘It is your property that you are destroying, your neighborhoods, your cities, your places of fulfillment and proximity. In this context of extreme tension, we cannot remain silent and our civic conscience encourages us to call for appeasement, awareness and accountability.’

In Nanterre on the outskirts of the Paris protesters torched cars and buses, barricaded streets and hurled projectiles at police following an earlier peaceful vigil.

The interior ministry said 79 police posts were attacked overnight, as well as 119 public buildings including 34 town halls and 28 schools.

Source: Read Full Article