By Editor-June 30th, 2023.
French President Emmanuel Macron pleaded for an end to ongoing violent protests in France on Friday as an “unacceptable situation” after a third successive night of nationwide protests over the shooting of a teenage driver saw cars set alight, shops looted, thousands of fireworks let off, and hundreds of people arrested.
In a public statement after a crisis meeting of ministers, Macron said “a third of those arrested last night are young, even very young.”
“Nothing justifies violence,” Macron said, stoping short of declaring a state of emergency. “There is an unacceptable instrumentalization of the death of a teenager, which we all deplore, when the period should be one of meditation and respect.”
At least 875 people were arrested overnight Thursday into Friday, France’s Interior Ministry said, following a march earlier Thursday in memory of the 17-year-old, who is only being identified by his first name, Nahel.
His death has revived longstanding grievances about policing and racial profiling in France’s low-income and multiethnic suburbs.
France’s Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin called Thursday a night of “rare violence,” and the ministry said 249 police and gendarmes were injured, but none seriously.
The mayor of Nanterre has expressed his sorrow for the death of Nahel M and the riots that ensued, during a meeting with Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne.
“The emotions and the anger felt after Nahel’s death are always alive and shared by the whole population,” Patrick Jarry said, according to French newspaper Le Figaro. “We must continue to support this family, this mum who is going to bury her son tomorrow.”
“At the same time, I have come to relay the sadness and desolation of the residents for the violence and degradation,” he added. “There is an urgency to find the words to exit this cycle of violence.”
Lawyer of policeman who fired shot says he did not intend to kill
Laurent-Franck Liénard, the lawyer of the police officer accused of killing Nahel M, says the defence will object to the arrest warrant because his client acted in “compliance with the law”.
He said his client is “devastated” and asking for “forgiveness to the family”.
According to the policeman, he aimed his shot at the victim’s leg in a bid to stop him from driving away.
Sources: News agencies, BBC, AFE.
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