These are hours of great tension in France after the death of Nahel, the teenager killed by a police officer in Nanterre. Officers detained more than 800 people last night alone following unrest across the country. About half of the arrests were made in the Paris region. There are 492 buildings damaged, 2,000 vehicles set on fire and 3,880 blazing, according to figures released by President Emmanuel Macron. A young protester died after falling from the roof.
The option of establishing a state of emergency in France for the banlieue revolt is no longer excluded. The journeys of all buses and trams will be stopped at 21:00 at the latest “every evening until further notice” in the Ile-de-France, the Paris region at the epicenter of the ongoing unrest in the country. This was communicated by the local authority responsible for the organization of transport, Idmf, explaining that it is a measure taken “for the safety of agents and travellers”.
Meanwhile, Macron has left the European council to return to Paris and preside over the crisis cell at the Elysée. The president called the riot “an unacceptable exploitation of the death of a teenager” and announced a greater deployment of police forces in the streets “to contain the violence”.
Macron then launched an appeal “to all parents, fathers and mothers of families to be responsible”. The head of state recalled that “a third of those arrested last night are young people, or even very young people. It is the responsibility of the parents to keep them at home”.
The French president then lambasted social media, stating that they “play a considerable role in the movements of the last few days”. And he cites TikTok and Snapchat, where “violent rallies have been organised”. “In the next few hours – he added – we will take various provisions” to organize “the withdrawal of the most at risk content” connected to the platforms and to “have the identity of those who use social networks to launch appeals for disorder or exacerbate violence”.
The policeman who killed 17-year-old Nahel with one shot from his service weapon, in Nanterre, “is devastated” and asks the young man’s “family” for forgiveness. The lawyer of the now imprisoned agent told BFM TV. “He – added the lawyer – does not get up in the morning to kill people. He did not want to kill ”.
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