Numerous arrests are made during the third night of ferocious protests against the tragic police shooting of a youngster in France.
The continuous violence in France was denounced by French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday as an "unacceptable situation" after a third consecutive night of countrywide protests over the police shooting death of a teenager saw cars set on fire, stores trashed, and hundreds of people arrested.
Watch in Video: Is this Protest Or Hooliganism?
Following a ministerial crisis conference, Macron stated in a public speech that "a third of those arrested last night are young, even very young." Without going so far as to declare a state of emergency, Macron stated, "Nothing justifies violence." When the time should be for reflection and respect, the death of a youngster is being used in a disagreeable way, which we all lament.
Following a march on Thursday in commemoration of the 17-year-old, who is only being named by his first name, Nahel, at least 875 individuals were detained overnight on Thursday into Friday, according to the French Interior Ministry. His passing has rekindled long-standing complaints in the low-income, multiethnic suburbs of France about policing and racial profiling.
Gerald Darmanin, France's interior minister, described Thursday night as one of "rare violence," and the government said that 249 police and gendarmes were hurt, although none critically.
Curfews have been enforced in towns surrounding Paris, as have prohibitions on public meetings in Lille and Tourcoing in the country's north.In various cities, 40,000 police and gendarmes, as well as special Raid and GIGN units, were deployed.
Violence and property damage were recorded despite the extensive security measures. Instead of violent clashes between protestors and law officials, according to police sources, Thursday's turmoil was characterised by the looting of stores, including allegedly the Nike and Zara flagship stores in Paris.
According to local officials, public buildings were also targeted, with a police station in the Pyrenean city of Pau being attacked with a Molotov cocktail and an elementary school and a district office being set on fire in Lille.
The Elysee indicated in a news statement that President Macron was going to cut short his trip to Brussels, where he was attending a European Union summit, to chair a crisis meeting on the violence, the second such emergency meeting in as many days.
Since Nahel was gunned down at point-blank range during a traffic check recorded on film on Tuesday, France has been shaken by nights of protests.
Mounia, Nahel's mother, told France 5 in her first public interview since the incident, "I don't blame the police." I only have one person to blame: the guy who murdered my son."
She said that the culpable officer, 38, who was arrested and charged with voluntary murder on Thursday, "saw an Arab face, a little kid, and wanted to take his life."
The officer's identity was withheld, as is customary in criminal proceedings in France.
In the western Paris district of Nanterre, where the adolescent resided and was slain, several cars were set on fire as the Mounia-led memorial march for Nahel came to a close. Riot police then fired tear gas into the area.
However, the precautions and increased security seemed to have little effect on Thursday night's turmoil.
Local authorities claim that a library in Marseille's city centre was vandalised. Scuffles then broke out as police deployed tear gas to disperse a crowd of 100 to 150 individuals who were reportedly trying to build barricades.
A police source reported that rioters in the Drancy area used a vehicle to break open the entrance to a retail centre, which was subsequently partially looted and burnt.
While this was going on, firefighters in Roubaix, a town in northern France, sprinted from fire to fire throughout the night. One of the fires they battled involved a nearby hotel, which caused its twelve or so occupants to evacuate onto the streets.
According to an AFP journalist, tensions in Nanterre, the scene of the turmoil, increased about midnight when fireworks and explosives were set off near the Pablo Picasso neighbourhood, where Nahel had resided.
The administration is desperately trying to prevent another outbreak of the urban riots that broke out in 2005 after two African-American boys died following a police pursuit and 6,000 others were detained.
Macron urged restraint and deemed the violence during the protests "unjustifiable."
The riots provide a brand-new obstacle for the president, who had hoped to get over some of the largest protests in a generation that had been spurred by a contentious increase in the country's retirement age.
Two police officers were seen standing by the side of the stopped automobile in a video that was verified by AFP, one of whom was brandishing a weapon at the driver.
The words "You are going to get a bullet in the head" may be heard.
The automobile then quickly takes off as the police officer seems to fire.
As soon as the footage surfaced, fights broke out, refuting police claims that the boy was ramming the officer with his car.
"The first words he pronounced were to say sorry, and the last words he said were to say sorry to the family," Lienard remarked.
According to The Associated Press, the lawyer claimed his client was "devastated" and apologetic but did what he felt was necessary at the time. He doesn't get up in the morning intending to murder people. He genuinely wanted to avoid murder.
Public prosecutor Pascal Prache of Nanterre had earlier on Thursday stated, "The prosecution considers that the legal conditions for the use of the weapon" by the police officer who fired the shot "are not met."
On Friday, Ravina Shamdasani, a spokesperson for the UN human rights office, stated that the demonstrations were "a moment for the country to seriously address the deep issues of racism and discrimination in law enforcement."
We also stress the value of peaceful assembly, added Shamdasani. "Any allegations of the use of excessive force must be promptly investigated."
The United Nations' accusation that France's police are racist was denied by the foreign ministry of France.
Any claims of racism or institutionalised prejudice against the French police are completely baseless, according to the government.