French President Emmanuel Macron called an emergency meeting of his new government on Friday after a third night of violent clashes between protesters and police in the cities of Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Toulouse and Lille. Some 40,000 police officers were deployed in France on Thursday night, almost four times the number deployed on Wednesday, and 667 people were arrested, the interior minister said. The shooting death of a 17-year-old by police shocked the nation on Tuesday, sparking protests. Follow our live blog for all the latest developments. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).
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- The 17-year-old victim, Nahel M., was shot at point-blank range by a police officer in the Paris suburb of Nanterre on Tuesday morning. He was driving a yellow Mercedes when he was pulled over for a traffic violation.
- Police initially reported he was shot after driving his car at officers, but this contradicted the facts A video that quickly went viral on social media was later confirmed by AFP. The video showed two officers standing next to the stationary car, with one pointing a weapon at the driver. “You’re going to be shot in the head,” a voice was heard saying. Police then appeared to fire as the car pulled away abruptly and came to a stop.
- The incident sparked three nights of violent unrest in the capital and cities across France, with protesters clashing with police.
- A total of 667 people were arrested overnight, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said Friday morning.About 40,000 police and gendarmerie – and Elite Raid and GIGN units – Deployed overnight to multiple cities.
7:49am: Public buildings, shopping centers targeted
Public buildings were the target of violence across France on Thursday night, with a police station in the Pyrenees city of Pau being firebombed and a primary school and a district office in Lille set ablaze, according to regional authorities .
In central Marseille, a library was vandalized and scuffles broke out nearby as police used tear gas to disperse 100 to 150 people who said they were trying to set up a barricade, according to local officials.
Several public buildings in the Seine-Saint-Denis department in the Paris metropolitan area were also targeted, according to police sources.
On the outskirts of Delancey, rioters used a truck to force open the entrance to a shopping center before parts of it were looted and set ablaze, police sources said.
Meanwhile, firefighters in the northern city of Roubaix raced through the night to blazes that also caught fire at a hotel near the train station, sending more than a dozen residents fleeing into the street.
Tensions escalated at midnight in Nanterre, the epicenter of the unrest, with fireworks and explosives set off in the Pablo Picasso district where teenage Nahel M. was shot dead by police on Tuesday live there.
7:45am: 667 arrested in third night of unrest, interior minister says
A total of 667 people were arrested overnight in France, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said, as protests erupted for a third night in a row over fatal police shootings. 17 years old Nahel M on Tuesday in the Paris suburb of Nanterre.
7:12am: Macron to hold new crisis meeting on French violence
French President Emmanuel Macron will convene a new crisis meeting on Friday, his office said, following 17-year-old Nahel M.
Macron to cut short Brussels trip He was there for the EU summit, Chairing the 1:00 p.m. (1100 GMT) meeting, the second in as many days to address the violence, Elysee Palace explain.
4:05 am: 421 people arrested across the country, according to Le Figaro
According to Le Figaro, 421 people have been arrested across the country so far, more than half of them in the Paris region, most of them between the ages of 14 and 18.
3:45am: French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin is monitoring the situation closely at the national police headquarters.
3.10am: France plunges into a third night of unrest, with riots in major cities including Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Toulouse and Lille.
40,000 police officers deployed across France – Almost four times the number mobilized on Wednesday – But there has been little sign that the government’s call to de-escalate the violence has quelled widespread anger.
On Tuesday, Nahel M., 17, was shot dead in the working-class town of Nanterre, on the western outskirts of Paris. After a peaceful vigil, protesters burned cars, blocked streets and threw projectiles at police. Protesters painted “Avenge for Naher” on buildings and a bank was set on fire as night fell before firefighters extinguished it and an elite police force deployed an armored vehicle.
Paris police said 14 people were arrested after a Nike shoe store was broken into in central Paris and another 16 were arrested after shop windows were smashed on the rue de Rivoli shopping street.
The National Police said late on Thursday that officers faced new incidents in Marseille, Lyon, Pau, Toulouse and Lille, including fires and fireworks.
Videos on social media showed multiple fires across the country, including at a bus station in the northern suburbs of Paris and a tram in the eastern city of Lyon.
In Marseille, France’s second-largest city, police fired tear gas grenades during clashes with youths in the tourist hotspot of the Vieux Port, according to the city’s main newspaper, Les Provences.
(France 24, AFP, Reuters and AP)