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France Arrests Over 1,300 in Unrest on Eve of Slain Teenager’s Funeral Macron Cancels State Visit to Germany Amid Unrest at Home
(about 3 hours later)
The authorities in France have stepped up their efforts to contain the unrest that has broken out this past week over the deadly police shooting of a 17-year-old, with officers arresting more than 1,300 protesters overnight, according to the Interior Ministry. President Emmanuel Macron of France on Saturday postponed a scheduled state visit to Germany as his government struggled to rein in violent protests over the deadly police shooting of a 17-year-old this past week.
The teenager’s family is holding a funeral for him on Saturday in Nanterre, the Paris suburb where he lived and where a police officer killed him on Tuesday during a traffic stop. Although the Interior Ministry described the violence overnight on Friday as being of “lower intensity” than the previous night, more than 1,300 people were arrested as the turmoil continued to grip major cities like Marseille and Lyon. Hundreds of cars have been set on fire, buildings have been damaged, and stores in some cities have been looted since the protests erupted over the teenager’s death on Tuesday.
The Interior Ministry described the overnight violence as being of a “lower intensity” than in previous nights, but scenes of unrest and clashes still gripped places like Marseille and Lyon. Since Tuesday, across France hundreds of cars have been set on fire, buildings have been damaged and stores in some cities have been looted. Many protesters identify with the teenager, who has been named only as Nahel M. and who was of Algerian and Moroccan descent. Anger over the shooting is rooted in decades-long complaints about police violence and persistent feelings of neglect and racial discrimination in France’s poorer urban suburbs.
The police arrested 1,311 people overnight, and the Interior Ministry said that 79 officers had been injured. Over 45,000 officers, along with armored vehicles and specialty police units, were mobilized to clamp down on the riots. A funeral was being held for Nahel on Saturday in Nanterre, the suburb outside Paris where he lived and where a police officer killed him during a traffic stop.
Many of the protesters identify with the teenager, who has been named only as Nahel M. and who was of Algerian and Moroccan descent. Anger over the shooting is rooted in decades-long complaints about police violence and persistent feelings of neglect and racial discrimination in France’s poorer urban suburbs. The officer who fired the fatal shot has been detained while being investigated on a charge of voluntary homicide, a rare move that has angered police unions, who said it ignored the presumption of innocence. They have also denounced the violent protests set off by the shooting, with the largest of the unions referring to those who have taken to the streets as “savage hordes.”
The police officer who fired the fatal shot has been detained while being investigated on a charge of voluntary homicide, a rare move that has angered police unions, who said it ignored the presumption of innocence. The authorities have intensified their efforts to quell the violence, sending police reinforcements and shutting down public transportation services.
They have also denounced the violent protests set off by the shooting, with the largest of the unions referring to those who have taken to the streets as “savage hordes.” Over 45,000 officers, along with armored vehicles and specialty police units, were mobilized on Friday evening to clamp down on the riots, and the Interior Ministry ordered a shutdown of bus and tram services. The police reported the arrests of 1,311 people overnight, and the Interior Ministry said that 79 officers had been injured.
In the southern city of Marseille, the police said they had arrested nearly 90 people overnight as protesters set fires and looted some stores. The city’s mayor, Benoit Payan, condemned the “acts of vandalism” and called on the authorities to send in stronger law enforcement. Pressure has mounted on Mr. Macron to prevent the tensions from worsening. He had been scheduled to go to Germany from Sunday until Tuesday, but the French leader’s office said on Saturday that he “wished to remain in France over the next few days.”
Officials say the violence has been driven by young people who are coordinating on social media. Several cities continued to restrict public transportation on Saturday, and public events that were expected to draw crowds were canceled, including a Pride celebration in Marseille, a concert by the singer Mylène Farmer at the Stade de France outside Paris and an evening festival in Lyon.
On Friday night, France’s national soccer team — many of whom are also from working-class neighborhoods — called “the brutal death” of Nahel “unacceptable” but urged those participating in the violence to stop. In the southern city of Marseille, the authorities said they would deploy more resources on Saturday, including a “massive reinforcement” of riot police officers and two helicopters, after protesters set fires and looted stores overnight. The police arrested nearly 90 people there, and the city’s mayor, Benoît Payan, condemned the “acts of vandalism.”
In a statement shared by Kylian Mbappé, one of the players, the team members said that they shared the feelings of anger and sadness. But, they said, “Violence solves nothing,” adding that those contributing to the destruction were hurting their own neighborhoods, cities and “places of fulfillment.” In the eastern city of Lyon, the police said that 58 people had been arrested and that some officers had been targeted with pellet shots.
The clashes have also reached overseas French territories, including French Guiana, where officials said that a government worker had been killed by a stray bullet during a violent protest in the South American territory.
On Friday night, France’s national soccer team — many of whom are from working-class neighborhoods — called “the brutal death” of Nahel “unacceptable” but urged those participating in the violence to stop.
In a statement shared by Kylian Mbappé, the team’s captain, the players said that they shared the feelings of anger and sadness. But, they said, “Violence solves nothing,” adding that those contributing to the destruction were hurting their own neighborhoods, cities and “places of fulfillment.”