Riots grow in France. President Emmanuel Macron left the European Union summit in Brussels on Friday June 30 to lead a new crisis meeting in Paris, as riots spread in the streets of several cities in his country after the death of a teenager at the hands of a policeman. Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said the government will review “all options,” including a state of emergency, to restore order.
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New crisis meeting in France. The Government of Emmanuel Macron seeks a way out of the crisis after a new night of violence in the streets of cities such as Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Toulouse and Lille.
Anger escalates and arrests rise to hundreds amid protests, after a police officer shot and killed a 17-year-old boy on Tuesday, June 27, in Nanterre, on the outskirts of the French capital.
A video recorded by a witness captured the moment when the uniformed officer points point-blank at the victim through the car window, when he tried to accelerate his vehicle, although without endangering the lives of the police officers.
The images aroused outrage, since they dismantled the initial version of the officer involved, who assured that he pulled the trigger because the young man was driving the vehicle in his direction.
The death of the teenager, who was identified as Nahel, has revived the debate in the country about police abuse with racist overtones and the excessive use of force by security agents.
Below are the most outstanding events of this June 30 after the third consecutive night of riots:
- 6:17 (BOG) UN: It’s an opportunity to address racism in France
The Human Rights Office of the United Nations Organization (UN) expressed its concern about the fatal shooting against the young man of Algerian and Moroccan descent during a traffic stop last Tuesday, and the riots that spread in the country in response.
However, the UN stresses that this must be an opportunity for France to address the problem of racism within the authorities.
“This is a time for the country to seriously address the deep-rooted issues of racism and racial discrimination in law enforcement,” said agency spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani.
“We also stress the importance of peaceful assembly. We call on the authorities to guarantee that the use of force by the Police, to deal with violent elements in demonstrations, always respects the principles of legality, necessity, proportionality, non-discrimination, precaution and accountability. Shamdasani added.
- 6:01 (BOG) “All options” are on the table, including a state of emergency
French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne assured this Friday that Macron’s cabinet will review “all options” at the emergency meeting to restore order and security on the streets.
Borne indicated that among the measures that will be evaluated with the Head of State is the establishment of a state of emergency.
“Naturally we are going to examine the means that can be deployed for the next night. And then we are also going to see the legal hypotheses, the intervention framework and all that is going to be discussed together with the President of the Republic (…) The priority is to guarantee national unity and the way to do it is to restore order,” he said. Borne during a visit to a Paris suburb.
- 5:41 (BOG) More than 800 people arrested in the last 24 hours
875 is the number of arrested only between Thursday night and the early morning of this Friday, June 30, according to a reporteither Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin.
Until now, it is considered the most violent day of the riots that, in addition to Paris, in whose periphery the death of Nahel was recorded, have spread to other cities throughout the country such as Marseille and Toulouse, in the south, Lyon, in the east, and Lille, in the north.
Different towns have been the scene of looting of businesses, burning of vehicles and destruction of infrastructure.
In addition, at least 249 officers were injured, according to the Interior Minister, Gérarld Darmanin.
The Government mobilized 40,000 police and gendarmes on Thursday night. Among them, 5,000 in the Paris region, while the tension revives the ghost of the suburban riots that rocked France in 2005, when the deaths of Bouna Traoré, 15, and Zyed Benna, 17, sparked three weeks of riots across the nation.
- 5:30 (BOG) Macron walks out of EU summit, calls crisis meeting
The French president Emmanuel Macron left the European Union summit, which is taking place in Brussels, in the last hours to return to his country to face the new social outbreak, due to the death of a young man at the hands of a police officer.
Macron canceled a press conference scheduled for this Friday, the second and last day of the meeting, and summoned his cabinet to a new emergency meeting to address the crisis, which will take place in Paris in the next few hours.
With Reuters and local media
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