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Paris: Hooligans clashed with police early Sunday and targeted the mayor’s house with a burning car, injuring members of his family, France The fifth night saw unrest after the police killed a teenager. But the general violence seems to have decreased from the previous nights.
Police arrested 719 people across the country early Sunday after a massive security deployment aimed at quelling France’s worst social unrest in years.
The crisis has posed a new challenge to President Emmanuel Macron’s leadership and exposed deep-rooted resentment in low-income neighborhoods over discrimination and a lack of opportunity.
The 17-year-old, whose death on Tuesday caused outrage, relented on Saturday at an Islamic ceremony in Nanterre, a suburb of Paris, where feelings over his loss remain raw. He is only publicly identified by his first name, Nael.
As night fell on Saturday, a small crowd gathered on the Champs-Elysées to protest his death and police violence, but they were met by hundreds of officers with clubs and shields to guard the street and its shops. And in a less elegant neighborhood of Paris, demonstrators set off fireworks and set barricades ablaze as police responded with tear gas and stun grenades.
A burning car crashed into the home of the mayor of the Paris suburb of Hayes-les-Roses. Many schools, police stations, municipalities and shops have been targeted by arson or vandalism in recent days, but such a personal attack on a mayor’s house is unusual.
Mayor Vincent Janbron said his wife and one of his children were wounded in the attack, which occurred at 1:30 a.m. while they were sleeping and he was in the town hall watching the violence.
Ganpron, of the conservative opposition Republicans party, said the attack marked a new phase of “horror and shame” in the unrest, and urged the government to impose a state of emergency.
Regional Prosecutor Stéphane Hardouin opened an investigation into the attempted murder, telling French television that a preliminary investigation indicated that the car was intended to run over the house and set it on fire. He said that the flame accelerant was found in a bottle in the car.
Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne flew to Haines-les-Roses to meet Janbron with Home Secretary Gerald Darmanin and other officials, promising that “we will do everything we can to restore order as soon as possible”.
Macron plans to hold a private security meeting Sunday evening with Born, Darmannen and the justice minister.
Skirmishes broke out in the Mediterranean city of Marseille but appeared to be less intense than the night before, according to the Interior Ministry. A reinforced police force arrested 55 people there.
Arrests nationwide were fewer than the night before. Darmanin attributed this to “the resolute action of the security forces”.
More than 3,000 people have been arrested overall since Nael’s death. Some frightened residents of targeted neighborhoods and shopkeepers whose shops have been looted have welcomed the mass police deployment, but further frustrated those who see police behavior as the crux of the crisis.
The unrest prompted Macron to postpone what would have been the first state visit of a French president to Germany in 23 years, starting Sunday evening.
Hundreds of police and firefighters were injured in the violence, though authorities did not say how many protesters were injured. In French Guiana, an overseas territory, a 54-year-old man died after being hit by a stray bullet.
Macron blamed social media for fueling the violence. France’s justice minister has warned that young people who engage in calls for violence on Snapchat or other apps could face prosecution.
While concerts at the National Stadium and smaller events across the country were canceled due to the violence and some neighborhoods suffered major damage, in other parts of France life continued as normal.
In the capital, tourists flocked to the Eiffel Tower, where workers set up a clock to count down to next year’s Paris Olympics. Within walking distance of Nanterre is a shopping center which on Sundays bustles with customers from all walks of life. Families who could afford it headed off for summer holidays.
Hundreds of mourners stood on the path leading to a hilltop cemetery in Nanterre on Saturday to pay homage to Nael as his white coffin was carried from a mosque to his grave. His mother, dressed in white, walked into the cemetery to applause. Many of the men were young and Arab or black, coming to mourn a boy who could have been them.
Nahil’s mother told France 5 television that she was angry at the officer who shot her son at a traffic stop, but not at the police in general.
He saw a little boy who looked Arab. She said, “He wanted to commit suicide.” Nael’s family has roots in Algeria.
A video of the killing showed two officers at the car window, one of them pointing a gun at the driver. When the young man stepped forward, the officer fired once through the windshield. The officer accused of killing Nael has been charged with premeditated murder.
Thirteen people who failed to comply with traffic stops were killed by French police last year, and three this year, prompting calls for more accountability. France also witnessed protests against police violence and racial injustice after the killing of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minnesota.
The reaction to the killing was a stark reminder of the persistent poverty, discrimination and limited job opportunities in the surrounding neighborhoods of France as many return to former French colonies.
In a public square in Nanterre, a young man of Senegalese origin said France would not learn much from the recent unrest. “They are playing on our fears, saying ‘if you don’t listen to us’,” Faiz Ngai said of the police – then he pointed his finger at his temple and fired.
In 2005, France was rocked by weeks of riots sparked by the deaths of two teenagers who were electrocuted at an electricity substation in the Paris suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois while fleeing from the police. Several buildings there have burned down this week – including the town hall, a secondary school, a library and a supermarket.
I hate the policeman who killed Nael. “He wanted to kill him,” said Abdelmuser, 15, a Clichy resident. In 2005 when Zedd and Bona were killed, we had no video nor social media. Today we all saw what happened.”
But Moser lamented the recent violence and the damage it has done to underprivileged towns like his own.
“I feel sad,” he said, “I don’t know why they set the town hall on fire.”
At the foot of a bridge near the Eiffel Tower where generations of couples have attached padlocks to symbolize lasting love, a Senegalese man selling cheap locks and keys shook his head when asked if Nahil’s murder and the ensuing violence would change anything.
“I doubt it,” he said, only giving his first name, Demba, for fear of reprisals. “The distinction runs very deep.”
The World War II memorial in Nanterre commemorating Holocaust victims and members of the French Resistance that was vandalized on the sidelines of a silent march Thursday in memory of Nael was still tarnished with slogans including “police scum”, “never forgive or forget” and “police, rapists, murderers”. “.
The European Jewish Congress condemned the vandalism as “a disgraceful act of disrespect for the memory of the victims of the Holocaust”.
Police arrested 719 people across the country early Sunday after a massive security deployment aimed at quelling France’s worst social unrest in years.
The crisis has posed a new challenge to President Emmanuel Macron’s leadership and exposed deep-rooted resentment in low-income neighborhoods over discrimination and a lack of opportunity.
The 17-year-old, whose death on Tuesday caused outrage, relented on Saturday at an Islamic ceremony in Nanterre, a suburb of Paris, where feelings over his loss remain raw. He is only publicly identified by his first name, Nael.
As night fell on Saturday, a small crowd gathered on the Champs-Elysées to protest his death and police violence, but they were met by hundreds of officers with clubs and shields to guard the street and its shops. And in a less elegant neighborhood of Paris, demonstrators set off fireworks and set barricades ablaze as police responded with tear gas and stun grenades.
A burning car crashed into the home of the mayor of the Paris suburb of Hayes-les-Roses. Many schools, police stations, municipalities and shops have been targeted by arson or vandalism in recent days, but such a personal attack on a mayor’s house is unusual.
Mayor Vincent Janbron said his wife and one of his children were wounded in the attack, which occurred at 1:30 a.m. while they were sleeping and he was in the town hall watching the violence.
Ganpron, of the conservative opposition Republicans party, said the attack marked a new phase of “horror and shame” in the unrest, and urged the government to impose a state of emergency.
Regional Prosecutor Stéphane Hardouin opened an investigation into the attempted murder, telling French television that a preliminary investigation indicated that the car was intended to run over the house and set it on fire. He said that the flame accelerant was found in a bottle in the car.
Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne flew to Haines-les-Roses to meet Janbron with Home Secretary Gerald Darmanin and other officials, promising that “we will do everything we can to restore order as soon as possible”.
Macron plans to hold a private security meeting Sunday evening with Born, Darmannen and the justice minister.
Skirmishes broke out in the Mediterranean city of Marseille but appeared to be less intense than the night before, according to the Interior Ministry. A reinforced police force arrested 55 people there.
Arrests nationwide were fewer than the night before. Darmanin attributed this to “the resolute action of the security forces”.
More than 3,000 people have been arrested overall since Nael’s death. Some frightened residents of targeted neighborhoods and shopkeepers whose shops have been looted have welcomed the mass police deployment, but further frustrated those who see police behavior as the crux of the crisis.
The unrest prompted Macron to postpone what would have been the first state visit of a French president to Germany in 23 years, starting Sunday evening.
Hundreds of police and firefighters were injured in the violence, though authorities did not say how many protesters were injured. In French Guiana, an overseas territory, a 54-year-old man died after being hit by a stray bullet.
Macron blamed social media for fueling the violence. France’s justice minister has warned that young people who engage in calls for violence on Snapchat or other apps could face prosecution.
While concerts at the National Stadium and smaller events across the country were canceled due to the violence and some neighborhoods suffered major damage, in other parts of France life continued as normal.
In the capital, tourists flocked to the Eiffel Tower, where workers set up a clock to count down to next year’s Paris Olympics. Within walking distance of Nanterre is a shopping center which on Sundays bustles with customers from all walks of life. Families who could afford it headed off for summer holidays.
Hundreds of mourners stood on the path leading to a hilltop cemetery in Nanterre on Saturday to pay homage to Nael as his white coffin was carried from a mosque to his grave. His mother, dressed in white, walked into the cemetery to applause. Many of the men were young and Arab or black, coming to mourn a boy who could have been them.
Nahil’s mother told France 5 television that she was angry at the officer who shot her son at a traffic stop, but not at the police in general.
He saw a little boy who looked Arab. She said, “He wanted to commit suicide.” Nael’s family has roots in Algeria.
A video of the killing showed two officers at the car window, one of them pointing a gun at the driver. When the young man stepped forward, the officer fired once through the windshield. The officer accused of killing Nael has been charged with premeditated murder.
Thirteen people who failed to comply with traffic stops were killed by French police last year, and three this year, prompting calls for more accountability. France also witnessed protests against police violence and racial injustice after the killing of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minnesota.
The reaction to the killing was a stark reminder of the persistent poverty, discrimination and limited job opportunities in the surrounding neighborhoods of France as many return to former French colonies.
In a public square in Nanterre, a young man of Senegalese origin said France would not learn much from the recent unrest. “They are playing on our fears, saying ‘if you don’t listen to us’,” Faiz Ngai said of the police – then he pointed his finger at his temple and fired.
In 2005, France was rocked by weeks of riots sparked by the deaths of two teenagers who were electrocuted at an electricity substation in the Paris suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois while fleeing from the police. Several buildings there have burned down this week – including the town hall, a secondary school, a library and a supermarket.
I hate the policeman who killed Nael. “He wanted to kill him,” said Abdelmuser, 15, a Clichy resident. In 2005 when Zedd and Bona were killed, we had no video nor social media. Today we all saw what happened.”
But Moser lamented the recent violence and the damage it has done to underprivileged towns like his own.
“I feel sad,” he said, “I don’t know why they set the town hall on fire.”
At the foot of a bridge near the Eiffel Tower where generations of couples have attached padlocks to symbolize lasting love, a Senegalese man selling cheap locks and keys shook his head when asked if Nahil’s murder and the ensuing violence would change anything.
“I doubt it,” he said, only giving his first name, Demba, for fear of reprisals. “The distinction runs very deep.”
The World War II memorial in Nanterre commemorating Holocaust victims and members of the French Resistance that was vandalized on the sidelines of a silent march Thursday in memory of Nael was still tarnished with slogans including “police scum”, “never forgive or forget” and “police, rapists, murderers”. “.
The European Jewish Congress condemned the vandalism as “a disgraceful act of disrespect for the memory of the victims of the Holocaust”.
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