The riots rocking France after the shooting of a French-Algerian teenager by police on Tuesday show no signs of abating.
French Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne said on Friday that an emergency cabinet meeting called for by President Emmanuel Macron and set for later today will review “all options” to “restore order” after a third night of violent clashes between protesters and police in cities including Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Toulouse and Lille.
The President is trying to get a hold on the situation after being spotted attending an Elton John gig the day after the shooting as Paris burned.
Forty thousand police officers were deployed across France – nearly four times the numbers mobilised on Wednesday – but there were few signs that government appeals to de-escalate the violence would quell the widespread anger.
A total of 667 people were arrested overnight in France during a third night of rioting, in which cars were vandalised, shops were looted and buildings set on fire. There were few signs that government appeals to de-escalate the violence would quell the widespread anger.
In Nanterre, the working-class town on the western outskirts of Paris where 17-year-old Nahel M. was shot dead, a peaceful vigil was held, alongside more violent protests. The police officer accused of shooting Nahel has been charged with voluntary manslaughter, and was reported to have apologised to the teenager’s family. His lawyer, Laurent-Franck Lienard, told the French TV channel BFMTV: “The first words he pronounced were to say sorry, and the last words he said were to say sorry to the family.” Lienard added: “He doesn’t get up in the morning to kill people. He really didn’t want to kill. But now he must defend himself, as he’s the one who’s detained and sleeping in prison.”
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