Unrest in France… Continued arrests and Macron cancels an official visit
Acts of rioting have erupted in cities across France for the fourth consecutive night, despite intensive police deployment and the arrest of 1,311 people.
Cars have been set on fire, buildings have been torched, and shops have been looted as family and friends prepared to bury 17-year-old Nahel, whose death at the hands of the police sparked the unrest.
The French Ministry of Interior announced the new number of arrests nationwide, with 45,000 police officers deployed in a so far unsuccessful attempt to end days of violence that erupted after the boy’s death on Tuesday.
The unrest has led President Emmanuel Macron to postpone a scheduled official visit to Germany.
Despite Macron’s appeal for parents to keep their children at home, clashes continued in the streets between young protesters and the police.
Authorities stated that around 2,500 fires were set and numerous shops were looted.
The funeral proceedings for Nahel, who was killed in the suburb of Nanterre in Paris, began on Saturday with family and friends viewing the open casket.
Later, the casket is scheduled to be brought to a mosque for the funeral prayer, then to the Nanterre cemetery for burial.
With the increasing number of arrests, the government has indicated that the violence is starting to decrease due to stricter security measures.
Since the start of the unrest on Tuesday night, the police have arrested a total of 2,400 people, over half of them on the fourth night of violence.
However, the damage is widespread, from Paris to Marseille, Lyon, and even abroad, where a 54-year-old man died after being hit by a stray bullet in French Guiana.
Hundreds of police officers and firefighters have been injured, including 79 people during the night, but authorities have not released the number of injuries among the protesters.
The French national football team, including international star Kylian Mbappé, who serves as a role model and symbol for many young people in disadvantaged neighborhoods where anger is rooted, called for an end to the violence.
The players stated in a statement: “Many of us come from working-class neighborhoods, and we also share this pain and sadness for the death of Nahel. Violence does not solve anything. It is time for mourning, dialogue, and rebuilding.”
Nahel’s mother, known as Mounia M., told French television channel France 5 that she was angry at the police officer but not the police in general, adding: “He saw a young child of Arab appearance and wanted to kill him. A police officer cannot take his gun and shoot our children or take the lives of our children.”
