French riots over killing start to ease as economic costs mount
TENSIONS abated slightly in France during a fifth night of unrest as authorities sought to contain the fallout from the killing of a teenager that has reignited debate about racism and inequality.
The riots and looting, which have drawn comparisons with America’s reaction to the murder of George Floyd in 2020, have become a moment of reckoning for the country, which has experienced repeated protests in recent years over such issues as pension reforms and the higher cost of living. President Emmanuel Macron has called a meeting with Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne and other ministers on Sunday (Jul 2) to discuss the situation.
Amid heavy police presence in cities and towns across the country, 719 people were arrested overnight, down from more than 1,300 on Friday, said the government. Authorities deployed 45,000 police, including in Lyon and Marseille, after streets were previously overrun with youths setting fires and attacking officers, public buildings and stores.
While Minister of the Interior Gerald Darmanin wrote on Twitter of a “calmer night”, reports describing clashes in Marseille and the ramming and burning of a car at the home of a mayor of L’Hay-les-Roses, a suburb of Paris, indicate that the crisis is not over. Stephane Hardouin, a public prosecutor, said authorities were investigating “attempted murder” after the mayor’s partner and two young children escaped the house.
“We’re not crying victory,” Laurent Nunez, Paris police commissioner, said in an interview on BFM TV. Officers deployed along the Champs-Elysees headed off plans for riots that had appeared on social media, he said, adding that special attention was also being paid to shopping centres that are being targeted by “delinquents”.
The unrest poses a political risk for Macron, who cancelled a state visit to Germany that was supposed to start on Sunday so that he could deal with the domestic situation. Macron and Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti have called on parents and social media to help bring an end to the violence.
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The economic costs of the unrest are mounting. On Saturday, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said some 10 shopping malls, more than 200 supermarkets, 250 tobacco shops and 250 bank outlets had been attacked or looted the previous night.
“All types of businesses have been targeted, especially those with valuable merchandise,” Jean-Luc Chauvin, head of the Chamber of Commerce of Aix Marseille Provence, told France Info. A first estimate by insurers put damages at more than 100 million euros (S$141.4 million), a number that will undoubtedly rise, he said.
LVMH fashion label Celine cancelled its menswear show scheduled for Sunday in Paris. Authorities also pulled cultural events such as concerts in some regions to prevent public gatherings.
A private funeral was held Saturday at a mosque in Nanterre for Nahel, the 17-year-old boy of North African descent who was shot last Tuesday at close range in a car.
The officer who fired the shot has been charged with murder and is in pre-trial detention. Pascal Prache, the Nanterre prosecutor, has said the legal conditions for the use of a weapon were not met. Laurent-Franck Lienard, a lawyer for the officer, told Europe 1 radio that the policeman believed he needed to shoot.
Nahel’s mother, identified only as Mounia, said in an interview with France 5 that she did not blame the police force. “I blame one person, the one who took my son’s life,” she said.
France’s unrest harks back to 2005, when weeks of riots followed the death of two boys in an electricity substation after a police chase. It has thrown a spotlight on French policing practices as well as long-simmering tensions in poorer suburbs.
In 2005, the French government declared a state of emergency that lasted close to two months, a move Macron has so far avoided.
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