There were also riots in France on Sunday night, but according to the government they were less severe than on the previous nights. “Quieter night thanks to decisive action by the police,” Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin wrote on Twitter on Sunday.
Especially in the Paris region and in Marseille, riots broke out for the fifth night in a row. According to the Interior Ministry, 719 people were arrested – significantly fewer than the 1311 on Saturday night. In view of the ongoing unrest in France, President Emmanuel Macron wants to give a situation report on Sunday evening.
This was announced by the Elysée Palace. Last had himself Macron commented on this on Friday. In view of the very young age of many of the rioters, he appealed to the parents’ sense of responsibility.
The riots were triggered by the death of a 17-year-old of North African descent who was shot dead by a police officer during a traffic stop on Tuesday. Nahel M. was buried on Saturday in Nanterre, a suburb of Paris.
Hundreds of people attended the service at the Nanterre Mosque. Because of the unrest, President Emmanuel Macron canceled his visit to Germany at short notice on Saturday, which was due to begin this Sunday.
“45,000 police officers and thousands of firefighters were mobilized to enforce order,” the Interior Ministry said on Twitter. “Your action… made for a quieter night.” Security forces were reinforced in Marseille, Lyon and Grenoble.
Local authorities across the country had banned demonstrations and ordered public transport to stop running in the evening.
Nevertheless, there were outbreaks of violence, some of them massive, in some places. The biggest trouble spot was Marseille in the south of France that night.
The biggest trouble spot is Marseille
Street battles broke out in the city center between young people and the police, who used tear gas. Several people tried to loot shops.
A young hooded rioter in Marseille holds a Molotov cocktail © action press/SENER YILMAZ ASLAN/SIPA
Numerous people of North African origin live in France’s second largest city – such as Nahel M., who was shot in Nanterre and has Moroccan and Algerian roots. There were also occasional clashes in Nice and Strasbourg.
In Paris, numerous mostly young people gathered on Saturday evening near the Champs-Elysées boulevard. They faced a large contingent of police. Many shops had their windows boarded up to prevent vandalism and looting.
Riots in France Demonstrators ram the mayor’s house with his car Because of the chaos in France, President Macron cancels a state visit to Germany. New riots in France are feared
Occasionally there were clashes between protesters and the police. According to them, six public buildings were damaged and five police officers injured on Sunday night. In the capital alone, there were 315 arrests.
Mayor’s home attacked
On the outskirts of Paris, in the town of L’Haÿ-les-Roses, the home of the mayor, Vincent Jeanbrun, was attacked. It was said from his environment that several people with a vehicle had forced their way through the gate of the house during the night.
They would have set this car and the mayor’s car and trash cans on fire. The intruders did not manage to enter the house, but they followed the mayor’s wife and two children, five and seven years old, into their back garden.
At 1:30 am, when I was at City Hall like the previous two nights, people raided my house and then started a fire to set fire to my house where my wife and two young children were sleeping.
Vincent Jeanbrunmayor of the town of L’Haÿ-les-Roses
The family was able to save themselves on the neighboring property. Jeanbrun wrote on Twitter that his wife and one of his children were injured. “At 1:30 a.m., when I was at City Hall like the previous two nights, people raided my house and then started a fire to set fire to my house where my wife and two young children were sleeping.”
Burning barricades made from rubbish bins in Marseille © action press/SENER YILMAZ ASLAN/SIPA
According to the public prosecutor’s office, an investigation into attempted murder has been launched, so far no suspects have been arrested. In the city, located in the Val-de-Marne department, there had also been riots in the past few nights.
The outbreak of violence has plunged President Macron and his government into the worst crisis since the yellow vest protests began in 2018. To take care of it, Macron canceled his visit to Germany. A spokeswoman for Steinmeier said on Saturday that he had spoken to Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on the phone and informed him about the situation in his country. “President Macron has asked to postpone the planned state visit to Germany.”
700
Shops, supermarkets, restaurants and bank branches were looted or even destroyed in France on Tuesday alone.
The causes of the outbreak of violence go back a long way, and the problems in the banlieues have been known for a long time. Many people from poor neighborhoods and drab working-class suburbs, inhabited by population groups of different ethnic origins, feel disadvantaged and neglected by the government. They complain about the lack of prospects. There is unemployment and crime. Complaints about police violence and racism have been increasing for years.
The riots, which have been going on for days, have caused considerable property damage. Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire announced on Saturday that more than 700 shops, supermarkets, restaurants and bank branches had been looted or even destroyed since Tuesday.
Unrest spread to Switzerland
The riots are reminiscent of the street battles in 2005, which lasted for three weeks. At that time, two young people in Paris, fleeing from the police, hid in a transformer house and died from an electric shock. President Jacques Chirac felt compelled to declare a state of emergency. Macron has not yet resorted to this remedy. However, his interior minister has not ruled this out.
More on the subject:
Je t’aime … moi non plus Macron’s trip to Germany – a rare visit in difficult times Riots in France Dead on the fringes of protests – 45,000 security forces mobilized Deadly shot at 17-year-olds Again riots after funeral march – local traffic in Paris stopped
The unrest in France has now also reached Switzerland. The police arrested seven people on Saturday evening in the city of Lausanne near the border with France, as reported by the Keystone-SDA news agency. According to the police, more than 100 young people had gathered in response to the riots in France. There was property damage to shops.
The seven arrested were taken to a police station, the police said in a statement. There are six minors aged 15 to 17 and one 24-year-old. (dpa/Reuters/pbl)
2023-07-02 18:42:54
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