For the third night in a row, there have been riots in the Paris area and other cities in France. The reason is the death of a 17-year-old boy – he was shot during a police check. On Friday evening, 40,000 police officers were mobilized across the country to curb the violence. In Belgium, too, there were clashes at night between police and protesting youths.
Special forces and helicopters were deployed to a number of French cities on Thursday night and there were at least 420 arrests, including 242 in the Paris area. “The state’s response must be extremely resolute,” said Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin in the northern town of Mons-en-Baroeul, where several municipal buildings were set on fire. Buses and trams have stopped running in the Paris region since Thursday evening and in Clamart, eight kilometers from the center of Paris, a curfew applies until Monday.
In Nanterre near Paris, where the 17-year-old died on Tuesday, a bank branch was set on fire on Thursday evening, with the flames spreading to a residential building above. Firefighters extinguished the fire without injuring anyone.
Police officers were thrown with Molotov cocktails
After a funeral march for the shot youth in Nanterre with 6,000 participants, there were already clashes between demonstrators and the police on Thursday evening. Molotov cocktails were thrown at the officers, the police monitored the situation with helicopters and called in special forces, and 19 people were arrested. In the port city of Marseille, hundreds of protesters clashed with police, shops were looted and 14 people were arrested.
Special police units were deployed in Lille, Lyon and Bordeaux. In Grenoble, a bus was fired at with fireworks. The employees of the transport company then stopped working.
Fires and riots also in Brussels
Meanwhile, there have also been clashes between youths and law enforcement in Belgium’s capital Brussels. About 30 people were arrested, most of them minors. Young people had played a game of cat and mouse with law enforcement and there had been several fires, police said. As the Brussels transport company announced, part of the local public transport was stopped.
Belgian media showed images of a burning car and police officers in riot gear. Young people called on social networks on Thursday to come together in response to the death of the 17-year-old in France, according to the police. There was tension, especially around the centrally located district of Anneessens.
Public Prosecution Service: Use of weapons not justified
A motorcycle patrol arrested the 17-year-old behind the wheel of a car in Nanterre on Tuesday morning. When the young man suddenly drove away, the fatal shot fell from the police officer’s service weapon. A formal manslaughter investigation was launched against the officer on Thursday and he has been taken into custody. The use of the weapon during the check was not justified, according to the public prosecutor.
As the detained police officer’s lawyer told broadcaster BFMTV, the officer regrets shooting the youngster. He apologized to his family. “He’s devastated. He doesn’t get up in the morning to kill people. He didn’t want to kill.” Meanwhile, the mother of the boy who was shot told the France 5 channel: “I am not angry with the police, I am angry with one person: the one who took my son’s life.”
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
