French police arrested at least 719 people during a fifth night of uprisings across the country on Saturday night following the funeral of 17-year-old Nahel earlier that day. The interior ministry said that the level of violence appeared to have declined since anger first broke out after the teenager was shot dead by a police officer during a traffic stop in the Paris suburb of Nanterre on Tuesday. Read our live blog for all the latest developments. 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.
12:01pm: PM condemns ‘intolerable acts’ in wake of attack on mayor’s house
Prime Minister ?lisabeth Borne on Sunday slammed what she described as “intolerable acts” after the assault on L’Ha?-les-Roses Mayor Vincent Jeanbrun’s home. “The perpetrators will be prosecuted with the utmost firmness,” the head of government said in a statement.
Jeanbrun had been staying in the heavily barricaded town hall at the time of the attack when rioters torched his car and rammed their own vehicle into his house. The mayor’s wife and two children escaped through the backyard during the assault.
11:45am: Ramming attack meant to set mayor’s home ablaze, says prosecutor
Cr?teil public prosecutor Stephane Hardouin confirmed on Sunday morning that he had opened an investigation into attempted murder following the ramming attack on the home of L’Ha?-les-Roses Mayor Vincent Jeanbrun, telling French television that a preliminary investigation suggested that the car was meant to ram the house and set it ablaze. He said a flame accelerant had been found in a bottle in the car.
11:23am: Seven detained in Lausanne in ‘echo’ of violence in France
Seven people were detained, most of them teenagers, after several shop windows in the Swiss city of Lausanne were smashed as young people gathered in an “echo” of riots in neighboring France, police said Sunday.
More than 100 people gathered in downtown Lausanne, in French-speaking western Switzerland, on Saturday evening, police said in a statement. It said that they were responding to several appeals on social media linked to several nights of violence that have shaken France after the police killing of a 17-year-old in a Paris suburb.
Several shop windows and a shop door were broken, while officers dispersed youths who threw paving stones and a Molotov cocktail at them, police said. They detained six people aged 15 to 17 – three girls and three boys, with Portuguese, Somali, Bosnian, Swiss, Georgian and Serbian citizenship – and a 24-year-old Swiss man.
No police officers were injured.
9:31am: Mayor’s wife in hospital following ramming attack
Reporting from the site of the overnight attack on the home of L’Ha?-les-Roses Mayor Vincent Jeanbrun, FRANCE 24’s Liza Kaminov details how rioters torched the Les R?publicains party spokesperson’s car and launched fireworks at his house. Jeanbrun’s wife and two children were able to escape through the back garden. His wife sustained unspecified injuries in the attack and is currently in hospital.
8:18am: Overnight arrests rise to 719
The number of people arrested by police during the fifth night of unrest following the killing of 17-year-old Nahel rose to 719 as of Sunday morning, the interior ministry announced.
8:02am: Rioters rammed my home, says mayor
Rioters in France rammed a car into the home of the mayor of a town south of Paris, injuring his wife and one of his children, the mayor said Sunday.
L’Ha?-les-Roses Mayor Vincent Jeanbrun wrote on Twitter that protesters “rammed a car” into his home, before “setting a fire”. “My wife and one of my children were injured,” he said.
The Cr?teil public prosecutor announced it has opened an investigation for attempted murder.
4:30am: 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 experiencing 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.
4:15am: So far 486 arrests have been made across France
A total of 486 people were arrested in France as of 3:30am (01:00 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 G?rald 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 3:00am 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.
3:30am: 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 6:00pm, 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 ?ric Dupond-Moretti said Saturday that 30 percent of those arrested were minors, while Darmanin said the average age of those arrested was just 17.
2:47am: 322 arrested across France, says interior ministry
A total of 322 people have been arrested over unrest across France as of 1:30am 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 G?rald 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 1:30am Sunday.
In Marseille, police dispersed groups of young people 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.
Key developments from Saturday, July 1:
Rioting across France appeared to be less intense on Saturday, as tens of thousands of police had been deployed in cities across the country.
President Emmanuel Macron postponed a state visit to Germany that was due to begin on Sunday to handle the worst crisis for his leadership since the “Yellow Vest” protests paralysed much of France in late 2018.
Some 45,000 police were on the streets with specialised elite units, armoured vehicles and helicopters brought in to reinforce its three largest cities, Paris, Lyon and Marseille.
The biggest flashpoint was in Marseille where police fired tear gas and fought street battles with youths around the city centre late into the night.
In Paris, police increased security at the city’s landmark Champs-?lys?es avenue after a call on social media to gather there. The street, usually packed with tourists, was lined with security forces carrying out spot checks. Shop facades were boarded up to prevent potential damage and pillaging.
Read yesterday’s liveblog to see how all the day’s events unfolded.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, Reuters and AP)
