President Emmanuel Macron of France on Saturday postponed a scheduled state visit to Germany as his government struggles to curb violent protests over the police shooting death of a 17-year-old man last week. before.
Although the Interior Ministry described Friday night’s violence as “lower intensity” than the previous night, more than 1,300 people were arrested as turmoil continued to blanket major cities such as Marseille and Lyon. Hundreds of cars have been burned, buildings damaged and shops looted in several cities since protests erupted over the teenager’s death on Tuesday.
Many protesters sympathized with the teenager, who has only been named Nahel M. and is of Algerian and Moroccan descent. Anger over the shooting stems from decades of complaints about police violence and a persistent sense of abandonment and racism in France’s poorer urban suburbs.
A funeral was held for Nahel on Saturday in Nanterre, the suburb outside Paris where he lives and where a police officer killed him while stopping his car.
The officer who fired the fatal shot has been detained while being investigated for attempted murder, a rare move that has angered police unions, which say they have ignored the presumption of innocence. . They also have condemn the violent protests begins with the shooting, with the largest union labeling those taking to the streets as “barbarians”.
Authorities have stepped up efforts to quell the violence, sending extra police and shutting down public transport services late at night. Some cities have begun enforcing an overnight curfew.
More than 45,000 officers, along with armored vehicles and special police units, were mobilized on Friday night to quell the riots, and the Interior Ministry ordered bus and tram services to be stopped. Police reported arresting 1,311 people overnight, and Ministry of Interior said that 79 officers were wounded.
Pressure has been on Mr Macron to prevent tensions from worsening. He was scheduled to visit Germany from Sunday until Tuesday, the first state visit by a French president in 23 years. Instead, the French leader’s office said on Saturday that he “would like to stay in France for the next few days.” Earlier in the week, Mr. Macron left the European Union summit in Brussels early, a rare step, to attend a crisis meeting in Paris over the unrest.
The postponement of the trip to Germany is not the first time a domestic crisis has hampered Mr Macron’s diplomatic schedule this year – a visit to France was planned for Britain’s King Charles III for March. also postponed amid protests against the French leader’s plan to overhaul his pension.
On Saturday, some cities continued to restrict public transport, and public events expected to attract crowds were cancelled, including a Pride Celebration in Marseillea concert by singer Mylène Farmer at the Stade de France outside Paris and an evening festival in Lyon.
In the southern city of Marseille, authorities said they would deploy additional resources on Saturday, including a “major reinforcement” of riot police officers and two helicopters, after the Protesters set fires and looted shops during the night. The police arrested nearly 90 people there, and the mayor of the city, Benoît Payan, condemn “destructive acts”.
To the east of the city of Lyon, the police say that 58 people were arrested and several officers were targeted with bullets.
Clashes have also spread to French overseas territories, including French Guiana, where officials say a government worker was killed by a stray bullet during a violent protest in the South American territory.
On Friday night, the France national football team – many of them from working-class neighborhoods – called Nahel’s “brutal death” “unacceptable” but called for those who participated in the violence ceased.
in a statement Sharing from captain Kylian Mbappé, the players said they shared the same feelings of anger and sadness. However, they say, “Violence solves nothing,” adding that those who contribute to the devastation are harming neighborhoods, cities and their own “places of satisfaction.”
