France has seen a quieter night of protests over the death of a teenager shot by police at point-blank range, the interior minister says.
There were fewer arrests compared to previous nights – 719 – with the worst clashes in the southern city Marseille.
In the Paris suburb L’Haÿ-les-Roses, attackers rammed a car into the house of the mayor, injuring his wife as she tried to flee with their two children.
French cities have seen unrest since the police shooting of a teenager.
Nahel M, 17, was shot during a traffic stop on Tuesday. Large crowds turned out for his funeral on Saturday.
In a tweet, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin praised law enforcement for their “resolute action” which had led to a “calmer night”.
Around 45,000 police were deployed across the country for a second night on Saturday.
More than 1,300 arrests were made on Friday night and more than 900 on Thursday.
Officials hope that a turning-point may have been reached – that rioters are losing energy thanks to the security crackdown and the massive unpopularity of their exactions.
However, until more nights of quiet confirm the trend, no-one is assuming anything.
In Marseille, heavy clashes took place between police and rioters throughout Saturday evening.
In footage circulating online, police can be seen using tear gas against people in the city.
The video shows the clashes taking place on La Canebière, the main avenue in the heart of Marseille.
French media report that fighting took place between a large group of rioters and officers.
In Paris, large numbers of police were seen along the iconic Champs-Élysées avenue.
There had been calls on social media for protesters to gather there but the police presence seems to have kept most of them away.
The capital’s police said they made 194 arrests. The Paris region stopped all buses and trams after 21:00 for a second night running.
L’Haÿ-les-Roses Mayor Vincent Jeanbrun said his wife and one of his children had been injured when fleeing an attacker who had rammed his house with a car and then set the car on fire.
He called it “a murder attempt of unspeakable cowardice”.
In the northern city of Lille, police special forces were seen on the streets. Images from the city overnight showed firefighters extinguishing blazes in cars that had been set alight by rioters.
Twenty-one people were arrested in the city of Lyon. Clashes were also reported in Nice and Strasbourg.
Nahel’s funeral service was held at the mosque in Nanterre earlier on Saturday.
Supporters of the family told the news media to keep away. All filming – even on phones – was banned: “No Snapchat, no Insta,” mourners were told.
Nahel was shot after refusing to stop for a traffic check and died after emergency services attended the scene. A video, shared online in the hours following Nahel’s death, showed two police officers trying to stop the vehicle and one pointing his weapon at the driver.
The officer who fired the fatal shot has since been charged with voluntary homicide and apologised to the family. His lawyer said he was devastated.
Nahel’s death has reignited debate around the state of French policing, including a controversial 2017 firearms law which allows officers to shoot when a driver ignores an order to stop.
More widely, it has led to questions of racism in the force. The UN’s human rights office said the unrest was a chance for France “to address deep issues of racism in law enforcement”.
President Emmanuel Macron condemned the violence on Friday “with the greatest firmness” and said Nahel’s death had been used to justify acts of violence – calling it an “unacceptable exploitation of the adolescent’s death”.
Source : BBC
