France Protest: President Emmanuel Macron to hold emergency meeting amid unrests
2 min read 30 Jun 2023, 12:22 PM ISTFrench President Macron calls emergency meeting in response to ongoing riots following fatal police shooting of teenager. Over 400 arrests made.
PremiumFrench President Emmanuel Macron is set to convene a fresh emergency government meeting on Friday in response to the ongoing riots that have persisted for three consecutive nights throughout the country.
As reported by Reuters, the protests stem from the fatal shooting of a teenager by the police earlier in the week. The Elysee palace, as cited by BFM TV, reported the president's intention to hold the meeting, scheduled for 1100 GMT.
"Last night, our police, gendarmes and firefighters again courageously confronted rare violence. In line with my firm instructions, they made 667 arrests," Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin wrote on Twitter, reported AFP.
Following a peaceful vigil held to honour the 17-year-old identified as Nahel M, who was fatally shot on Tuesday in Nanterre, a working-class town on the western outskirts of Paris, the situation escalated as protesters set cars on fire, erected street barricades, and launched projectiles at the police.
According to Paris police, a Nike shoe store in central Paris was burglarized and multiple individuals were apprehended after windows were shattered along the popular shopping street, Rue de Rivoli.
Videos circulating on social media depicted several fires occurring nationwide, including at a bus depot in a suburb north of Paris and a tram in Lyon.
The victim's family, represented by their lawyers, identified the young driver as Nael M. and expressed their intention to file complaints against the officer who fired the fatal shot, as well as another officer present at the scene.
Both French President Emmanuel Macron and Interior Minister Darmanin have called for calm, urging the public to await the results of the investigations into the teenager's death.
The mother of a French teenager whose killing by a police officer has sparked riots said Thursday she thought the death was racially motivated but she did not bear a grudge against the force as a whole, AFP reported.
"I don't blame the police, I blame one person: the one who took the life of my son," Mounia told the France 5 channel in her first media interview since the shooting on Tuesday morning.
