For nearly a week now, severe riots have been taking place in Paris and France in general. Thousands of people have been arrested, stores are being looted, property is being burned, and protesters are violently confronting the police.
The riots broke out following the killing by a police officer of a teenager of Algerian-Moroccan origin. The teenager, Nahel Marzouk, was shot dead by a police officer in the suburbs of Paris. Footage circulated on social media showed the police officer shooting dead at point-blank range a teenager who was trying to escape from him. The officer was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter, but in the suburb where the incident occurred, Nanterre, many protesters took to the streets and began rioting and clashes with the police.
The protesters (mostly immigrants) burned cars and trash cans, vandalized a bus stop, and fired fireworks at the police, who responded with tear gas and stun grenades. On one night, about 4,000 different fires were reported and about 500 buildings were damaged. The protesters attacked 79 police stations, 34 municipal buildings, and 28 schools. The vandalism also targeted monuments and memorials. In Nanterre, rioters were seen desecrating a memorial to the victims of the Holocaust by spraying slogans, climbing walls, and removing the flag.
After the boy's funeral, the riots intensified, and thousands of people were arrested. The riots spread to various places in France, including Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Strasbourg and more. Among other things, a gun shop was looted, a library was burned, an Apple store in Strasbourg was broken into, and more and more. Tens of thousands of police officers were deployed across the country in response to the violent events. Among other things, the police were joined by fighters from special units, and armored police vehicles and helicopters were sent to reinforce the forces in Paris, Lyon, and Marseille.
In Paris, police were beefed up on the Champs-Élysées following plans for a demonstration there. This increased presence prevented riots in that particular area.
Public transport was temporarily shut down at night and the sale of fireworks, which rioters used to attack police, was banned. President Emmanuel Macron's prime minister, Elisabeth Born, announced that police forces would be able to use armored vehicles to deal with rioters. In the meantime, Macron is not inclined to declare a state of emergency to grant police special powers, as Jacques Chirac did in 2005.
There are significant disruptions to public transport in Paris and other cities. Two performances at the Stade de France have been cancelled. The famous cycling race has also been cancelled. Tour de France The race started in Bilbao, Spain, and will enter the France On July 3. Event organizers are preparing for a situation where they will be forced to change the route.
In La Roche-en-Rose, a suburb south of Paris, a car crashed into the mayor's house, apparently deliberately. Mayor Jean-Baptiste Jean-Bron was not at the scene at the time of the incident, but his wife and two children were asleep at home at the time of the attack and she and one of the children were injured as they fled the scene.
Immigrants have been claiming for many years that excessive police violence is being used against them. There are also allegations of racism against blacks and Muslims – poor populations that have quite a few problems.
Is the status of the demonstrations in Paris known these days?
Right now it seems to have calmed down relatively, although there are still cases of looting and minor riots. If anything changes I will update the article.