Riots erupted for the second night in a row in France in response to the killing of a young man by a policeman at a traffic checkpoint, while thousands of security personnel were deployed to prevent the expansion of violent protests.
About 2,000 riot police were called to the suburbs surrounding Paris in the aftermath of the murder of a young man, Nael M. The 17-year-old was shot in the chest by a policeman at close range, on Tuesday morning.
The incident caused confrontations between the police and demonstrators who set arson on the outskirts of Paris, on Tuesday night, as the Ministry of the Interior announced the arrest of 31 people, the injury of 24 policemen with minor injuries, and the burning of about 40 cars.
On Wednesday night, garbage containers were set on fire and fireworks were fired in the suburb of Nanterre, west of Paris, where the young man was killed, in addition to other neighborhoods in the Au-de-Seine region, west of Paris, and in the eastern city of Dijon.
Police said a group of people set fire to a bus after all its passengers got off in the south of the capital.
In the southern city of Toulouse, several cars were set on fire and petrol bombs were thrown at police and firefighters as thick black smoke billowed into the sky.
Just before midnight, the police announced that they had arrested about 16 people across the country.
The case sparked criticism from different social strata. MPs and ministers observed a minute of silence in the National Assembly to pay tribute to the victim, who was identified only by his name and last initial.
President Emmanuel Macron expressed his “affectedness” by the killing of the young man, according to government spokesman Olivier Veran, who called for “calm”.
The killing of Nael took place, on Tuesday morning, behind the La Défense neighborhood near Paris, when he did not comply with a checkpoint and tried to bypass it.
Police sources confirmed at first that the young man drove his car towards two policemen on two motorcycles to try to run them over.
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2023-06-29 06:22:09
