2023-07-03 02:31:00
Protests continue in several French cities over the crime of a young man at the hands of the Police. Photo: AFP
The president of France, Emmanuel Macron, met this Sunday urgently with his cabinet and agreed meetings with parliamentarians and mayors for the next 48 hours, despite the fact that the government said that the level of violence was decreasing after the fifth consecutive night of riots over the death of a teenager at the hands of the police left more than 700 detainees on Saturday; and this Sunday at night, until 11:30 p.m. (6:30 p.m. in Argentina), the security forces detained 49 people throughout the national territory, reported the Ministry of the Interior.
Macron, that he Saturday postponed a state visit to Germany, lives its second major crisis in a few months after the demonstrations against reform to raise the retirement age that imposed by decree, without parliamentary passage, although with the endorsement of constitutional justice.
This Sunday he held an emergency meeting, which was not included in the presidential agenda, with its Prime Minister, Élisabeth Borne, and seven other government ministers, to deal with the serious disturbances unleashed after the death of a teenager by a shot by a police officer in Nanterre on Tuesday.
The appointment was a “situation point” to have an “update on the situation”, according to sources from the Élysée cited by French media.
This Monday, the president will receive the presidents of the National Assembly and the Senate, and on Tuesday, the mayors of “more than 220 towns” affected by the riots of recent days.announced an attendee at the meeting, according to the AFP news agency.
Due to the wave of violence, Macron assembled his emergency cabinet. Photo: AFP
The president also asked Borne “to receive the presidents of the political groups in parliament” this Mondayadded the same source.
Among those attending the emergency cabinet meeting were Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin and Justice Minister Éric Dupont-Moretti, according to the Europa Press news agency.
The objective of the meeting was to underline the “firmness” and unity of the government, surrounding itself with seven ministers in the face of the violence unleashed in the main cities of the country for five days.
On Saturday night they arrested at least 719 people in the midst of a large security deployment to quell the worst wave of social unrest in years, another challenge to Macron’s authority and which once again reflected deep discontent in poor neighborhoods affected by discrimination and lack of opportunities.
One of the most serious incidents occurred in a town in the suburbs of Paris, L’Hay les Roses, where a burning car was crashed at dawn into the house of the mayor, Vincent Jeanbrun, and started a fire.
The mayor’s wife and one of the two young children were slightly injured and Jeanbrun, who was in the municipality, denounced an “assassination attempt”.
According to the Paris Prosecutor’s Office, which is the French attorney general’s office, the first indications pointed to the fact that “the vehicle was launched with the intent to burn down the house.”
Borne called the attack “intolerable”.
Photo: AFP
As a sign of solidarity, the Association of French Mayors (AMF) called this Sunday a protest for this Monday in front of the country’s municipalities, said the mayor of the city of Cannes, David Lisnard.
Lisnard told the TF1 channel that the association invited the public to join.
The Ministry of the Interior indicated that most of the arrests on Saturday night were for possession of objects that could be used as weapons or projectiles.
At dawn on Saturday, the detainees were about 1,300the highest amount since Tuesday.
“Quieter night thanks to determined action by law enforcement,” Darmanin said on Twitter last night.
Despite this, some 45 police officers and gendarmes were injured, 577 vehicles and 74 buildings were set on fire and 871 fires were recorded on public roads, said the Interior portfolio in its daily part.
For the second consecutive night, the minister mobilized 45,000 police and gendarmes, including 7,000 in Paris and in the suburbs of the capital, with reinforcements in southern Marseille and in Lyon, in the center east, the main cities affected the day before by clashes, destruction and looting.
The wave of violence was unleashed by the death of a young man, Nahel M., by a shot at point-blank range by a police officer at a traffic control on Tuesday in Nanterre, near Paris. The event was filmed by a witness.
Violence in France, which will host the Rugby World Cup this year and the Olympic Games in 2024, worries abroad.
Several European countries, including the United Kingdom, have advised their citizens not to travel to areas affected by the violence.
Photo: AFP
The Chinese consulate in Marseille urged citizens to be “vigilant and use caution” after state media reported that stones were thrown at a bus carrying Chinese tourists in that city.
The UN warned on Friday of “deep” problems of “racism and racial discrimination” among French security forces, a consideration that the Government considered “totally unfounded”.
The violence and anger of young people in popular neighborhoods are reminiscent of the riots that shook France in 2005, after the death of two teenagers pursued by the police.
In Paris, the police deployed an important device on the avenue des Champs-Élysées, where the shop windows were protected with wooden planks and groups of young people could be seen under the watchful eye of the agents.
In an attempt to stop the spiral of violence, many municipalities, particularly in the Paris region, imposed a curfew and prohibited the circulation of buses and trams after 9:00 p.m.
The request of the Nahel family
Nahel, the teenager who was shot dead by a police officer, was buried on Saturday in Nanterre, near Paris, in the presence of his mother, his grandmother and hundreds of people, in a “very quiet” ceremony.
Nahel’s grandmother called for calm this Sunday after five nights of protests.
“I want all this to stop, to the people who are breaking things I tell them to stop,” said the woman, identified as Nadia, in a conversation with the television station Bfmtv.
Nadia said that part of the protesters use the death of her grandson “as an excuse” to destroy the country.
She also said that she was “tired” of the crisis and indicated that the situation was even worse for her daughter, Nahel’s mother, who “has no life left,” she lamented.
Also this Sunday A petition in support of the family of the police officer who killed Nahel had already raised more than 700,000 euros, while the fundraising initiative for the family of the deceased young man barely reached 100,000 euros.
“I support the family of the Nanterre policeman, Florian M. who has done his job and is now paying a heavy price. Support him massively and support our police!” says the petition, started by far-right journalist Jean Messiha.
The 38-year-old police officer who shot him has been in custody since Tuesday, charged with voluntary manslaughter.
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