French President Emmanuel Macron said he believes the peak of rioting across the country has passed after a week of violence.
He made the comments on Tuesday at a meeting of more than 200 mayors from areas that have been affected by the unrest.
The protests were sparked by the fatal shooting of teenager Nahel M at a traffic stop near Paris on 27 June.
However, the president said he still remained “cautious”.
“Is the return to calm lasting? I will be careful, but the peak we have experienced in recent days has passed”, he said in a televised address.
Mr Macron said he had invited the mayors to thank them for the action they had taken in recent days.
“If you are here it is because you have been victimised, sometimes you have been victimised in a very direct and personal way, your families and loved ones, in an intolerable and unspeakable way,” he added.
His comments come as the interior ministry said the levels of violence had halved in the past 24 hours.
Several people, including police officers, were injured in street clashes and a firefighter died on Sunday night while trying to put out burning cars.
In total, over 3,400 people were arrested, and the riots are estimated to have caused millions of euros worth of damage to public transport in the Paris region alone.
On Monday, mayors across France held demonstrations calling for an end to the violence after attackers tried to set fire to the home of Vincent Jeanbrun, a suburban Paris mayor, and fired rockets at the official’s fleeing wife and children.
The public prosecutor’s office has started an investigation for attempted murder.
Mr Macron told the mayors on Tuesday that they had his “full support” and that he would provide them answers over the events of the past week.
The killing of Nahel M by a police officer has reignited anger from members of the public, who accuse the security forces of system racism. The 17-year-old was of Algerian descent.
It has also sparked a wider conversation about the power of the police and the relationship between the authorities and people from France’s suburbs, who feel segregated from the country’s prosperous city centres.
The police officer accused of killing Nahel M has been charged with voluntary homicide. He said he had fired because he felt his life was in danger.
Source : BBC
