Violent Protests Rock France After Teen’s Death, Cars Burnt, 800 Arrested

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At least 800 persons have been arrested following violent protests in France.

 

This followed the killing of a teenager by the police.

The killing led to confrontations that resulted in the destruction of cars and properties.

40,000 police officers were mobilized on Friday in an effort to head off widespread urban rioting and looting.

Bus and tram services faced disruptions with a nationwide shutdown ordered for 9 p.m. on Friday to try to stem another night of violence.

According to AlJazeera, areas within some of France’s major cities have erupted in violence for several successive nights after a teenager named Nahel Merzouk, reportedly of Algerian descent, was fatally shot by police — an incident caught on video.

Confrontations between police and protesters began on the night of June 27 in the Parisian suburb of Nanterre, where Merzouk was shot, and have since spread to other parts of the capital and several other cities.

More than 800 people were arrested the night of June 29, as outrage continued to intensify. Merzouk’s death appears to have become a flashpoint for anger about racial inequality in France and claims of police discrimination.

Buildings, vehicles and debris have been set alight during the turmoil. France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, has been holding crisis talks amid concerns that the country could see a replay of violence in 2005 that led to a state of emergency.

Protests began in Nanterre, a suburb of northwestern Paris’ wider metropolitan area. Subsequently there have been protests in other areas around the capital: Bezons, Gennevilliers, Garges-lès-Gonesse, Asnières-sur-Seine, Montreuil, Neuilly-sur-Marne, Clamart and Meudon.

Further out, Trappes, Clergy, Guyancourt and Vigneux-sur-Seine have also been affected.

These are all beyond the “Periphique” ring road that encircles the central Paris “arrondissements,” where most of the main tourist attractions and accommodations are located.

Elsewhere in France, Elite RAID police have also been deployed to key tourist cities Marseille and Bordeaux in the south, as well as the northern cities of Lille — a stop for the Eurostar train from London — and Roubaix.