ALBAWABA - Demonstrations erupted in the Paris suburb of Nanterre on June 27 after a 17-year-old was shot dead by police during a routine traffic stop. The protests continued throughout the night, leading to the arrest of more than 600 people, as French President Macron prepares for a crisis meeting today.
Despite the authorities' calls for restraint and guarantees to restore order, violent incidents and looting occurred in Paris and other cities. Protesters set up barricades, set vehicles on fire, and damaged shops and public property.
To maintain public safety, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin deployed nearly 40,000 gendarmes and police across the country, with up to 5,000 in Paris. In Nanterre, the site of the tragic accident, many cars were set on fire, and protesters left the inscription "Nael Echin Intekam" (Nael's revenge) on the walls of buildings.
The unrest has spread beyond Paris, with reports emerging of prominent shops being looted, shop and restaurant windows smashed, and ATMs vandalized in the heart of the capital. In Clichy-sous-Bois, located south of Paris, demonstrators set fire to the entrance to the district council building. Similarly, in Marseille, a bookshop was ransacked, and a group of 150 people trying to set up roadblocks was dispersed by police with pepper spray.
While violent riots spread through towns and cities in France following the shooting of #Nahel in #Nanterre, President Emmanuel Macron attended an Elton John concert. Public transportation also faced disruptions as a precaution. Bus and tram services across the city in Paris were canceled before sunset, after fears of possible attacks by protesters. Toulouse and Lyon saw accidents involving vehicles and trams, respectively.
By early morning, the protests in Paris had died down, according to French media reports. However, the number of arrests that resulted from the demonstrations reached 667. During a press conference, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin praised the police officers, gendarmerie and firefighters for their courageous response, stressing that 667 arrests were made in strict compliance with his instructions. . Meanwhile, President Macron is scheduled to hold a crisis meeting today to address escalating tensions.
An investigation into the fatal police shooting that sparked the protests is ongoing. The incident sparked widespread outrage, which led to demonstrations in several cities, and led to the imposition of curfews in the Paris suburbs of Nanterre, Claramat and Savigny-le-Temple.
