270 Arrested as disturbances continue across France
Paris, Jul 1 (EFE).- Police arrested more than 200 people nationwide during a fourth consecutive night of disturbances after police killed a teenager, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said early Saturday.
“At this hour 270 arrests already, of which more than 80 in Marseille, where significant reinforcements are arriving now,” he wrote in a tweet posted at 12:31 am.
The minister’s comments came shortly after Marseille Mayor Benoit Payan denounced “scenes of pillage and violence” in France’s second city.
French media reported major incidents in other cities, including Toulouse, Lyon, and Nanterre, the Paris suburb where 17-year-old Nahel M was fatally shot by police on Tuesday during a traffic stop.
The young man was driving a rental car without a permit and was shot when he tried to flee. The incident was caught on video and spurred outrage.
The government deployed 45,000 police officers, supported by armored vehicles, in cities across the country Friday night.
Nearly 900 people were arrested Thursday night, while around 300 police were injured, though none of them seriously.
In a brief statement early Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron slammed the “unacceptable instrumentalization of the death of a teenager.”
“I condemn with the greatest firmness all those who are using this situation and this moment to try to create disorder and attack our institutions,” the president said.
EFE ngp/dr
