PARIS: France faced protests over the fatal police shooting of a teenager for a third straight night Thursday with buildings vandalized, cars burned and hundreds arrested in cities across the country.
At least 421 people had been arrested across the country during the night raids. The nighttime unrest followed a march earlier Thursday in memory of the 17-year-old, named Nahel. The death has revived longstanding grievances of the people about policing and racial profiling in the country’s low-income and multiethnic suburbs.
An internal security note indicated that the authorities were expecting a “theatre of urban violence”, with around 40,000 police and gendarmes — along with elite Raid and GIGN units — deployed in several cities.
At least three cities around Paris had imposed curfews, while bans on public gatherings were instated and helicopters and drones mobilised in the neighbouring cities of Lille and Tourcoing in the country’s north.
Despite the massive security deployment, violence and damage was reported in several areas. As of around 3:00 am (0100 GMT) Friday, at least 421 people had been arrested across the country over the course of the night, according to the team of Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin.
“There aren’t any very violent confrontations in direct contact with the police, but there are a number of vandalised stores, looted or even burned businesses,” a senior national police officer said.
Public buildings were also targeted, with a police station in the Pyrenees city of Pau hit with a Molotov cocktail, according to regional authorities. –AFP/APP
