Macron slams ‘exploitation’ of teenager’s death as he seeks to quell riots | Tellwell Newspaper
Tellwell Newspaper, Abuja – Nigeria:
French President Emmanuel Macron called on parents to keep their children off the streets as he held an emergency cabinet meeting to contain rioting that spilled over for a third night in response to the police shooting of a 17-year-old driver.
Denouncing the “unacceptable exploitation” of the teenager’s death, Macron outlined a series of measures to stem the violence, but fell short of declaring a state of emergency.
Macron said additional security forces would be deployed on Friday night. He called on parents to take responsibility during the riots and on social media outlets to remove “sensitive” rioting content.
The Interior Ministry said in a statement that bus and tram services will be halted nationwide at 9pm from Friday and sales of large fireworks would be banned in an effort to dissuade protests.
Regional prefects, who are in charge of security around the country, will also be asked to ban the sale and transport of petrol cans, acids and other inflammable liquids.
Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne had earlier said the government would consider “all options” to restore order.
UN racism concerns
The United Nations rights office said it was concerned by the shooting of Nahel.
“This is a moment for the country to seriously address the deep issues of racism and racial discrimination in law enforcement,” spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said.
“We also emphasise the importance of peaceful assembly. We call on the authorities to ensure use of force by police to address violent elements in demonstrations always respects the principles of legality, necessity, proportionality, non-discrimination, precaution and accountability.”
Meanwhile the UK updated its official travel advice to warn citizens planning to visit France.
Public buildings targeted
Public buildings were the target of violence throughout France on Thursday night, with a police station in the Pyrenees city of Pau hit with a Molotov cocktail, according to regional authorities, and an elementary school and a district office set on fire in Lille.
In the city centre of Marseille, a library was vandalised, according to local officials, and scuffles broke out nearby when police used tear gas to disperse a group of 100 to 150 people who allegedly tried to set up barricades.
Multiple public buildings were also targeted in Seine-Saint-Denis, in the Paris metro area, according to a police source.
In the suburb of Drancy, rioters used a truck to force open the entrance to a shopping centre, which was then partly looted and burned, a police source said.
Firefighters in the northern municipality of Roubaix, meanwhile, dashed from blaze to blaze throughout the night, with a hotel near the train station also catching fire, sending its dozen or so residents fleeing into the streets.
In Nanterre, the epicentre of the unrest, tensions rose around midnight, with fireworks and explosives set off in the Pablo Picasso district, where Nahel had lived.
Macron has called for calm and said the protest violence was “unjustifiable”.
Police saw ‘an Arab face’
In her first media interview since the shooting, Nahel’s mother, Mounia, told the France 5 channel: “I don’t blame the police, I blame one person: the one who took the life of my son.”
She said the 38-year-old officer responsible, who was detained and charged with voluntary manslaughter on Thursday, “saw an Arab face, a little kid, and wanted to take his life”.
The police had initially reported that Nahel was shot after driving his car at police, but this was contradicted by a video that rapidly went viral across social media and was later authenticated by AFP.
The footage shows the two policemen standing by the stationary car, with one pointing a weapon at the driver. A voice is heard saying, “You are going to get a bullet in the head.”
The police officer then appears to fire as the car abruptly drives off before gradually coming to a stop.
RFI/News Agencies
