Massive riots have erupted throughout France following the police shooting of a 17-year-old Algerian Muslim.
According to the Daily Wire, this prompted the deployment of 40,000 police officers to the streets of major cities, including Paris, on Thursday night.
According to France 24s international affairs editor, Angela Diffley, the riots have intensified and are transforming into a more generalized unrest. Instances of widespread looting and vandalism targeting ordinary and high-end businesses have occurred.
The incident that sparked the riots took place on Tuesday. A police officer fatally shot Nahel M. during a traffic stop in Nanterre, located west of Paris. According to Reuters, the teenager drove in the bus lane during a traffic jam. He was pulled over but refused to present a license and attempted to flee, prompting the officer to fire, hitting him in the left arm and chest.
The Nanterre public prosecutor stated that the officer feared the teenager would initiate a car chase and harm others. Police revealed that Nahel M. had a history of disregarding traffic stops.
He had to [be] stopped, but obviously, (the officer) didnt want to kill the driver, said the attorney representing the police officer.
Riots spread across various cities in France, including Paris, where rioters set dozen buses ablaze, and shattered store windows along the rue de Rivoli. Others reported similar unrest in Roubaix in the north, Marseille in the south, and Reims and Lyon. In the Paris suburb of Drancy, a shopping mall was set on fire, while in Marseille, flames consumed the countrys largest library. The headquarters of the Paris 2024 Olympics in Seine-Saint-Denis were also targeted and set ablaze.
French Prime Minister lisabeth Borne stated, These acts are intolerable and inexcusable.
The state must be firm in its response, stated Darmanin. He also reported that police arrested 875 individuals on Thursday night.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who denounced the killing of Nahel M., had previously imposed restrictions on several mosques and Muslim associations, citing their alleged promotion of Islamist separatism.
Itay Lotem, a senior lecturer in French studies at the University of Westminster, commented to Sky News that the events following Nahel Ms death seemed almost predetermined, stating, A police officer kills a teenager from one of the underprivileged communities around Paris, sparking waves of anger. Groups of disillusioned young people take to the streets of the banlieue and direct their actions towards symbols of the state, such as police stations or schools.
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