According to French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, 150 individuals were arrested in France after another night of widespread unrest in the country. This followed the fatal shooting of a 17-year-old boy by the police during a traffic stop. The ministry reported that numerous police officers were injured during the clashes. Darmanin described the night as “unbearable violence” targeting symbols of the Republic, such as town halls, schools, and police stations, which were set on fire or attacked. He shared this information on his Twitter account.
The fatal use of lethal force by police officers in the Paris suburb of Nanterre, where the victim was of North African descent, has reinforced the longstanding perception of police brutality in the ethnically diverse neighborhoods of France’s major cities.
On Wednesday, the interior ministry announced the mobilization of 2,000 police officers in the Paris region. In Nanterre’s Avenue Pablo Picasso, just before midnight, a trail of burned and overturned vehicles marked the scene as fireworks were directed at the police lines.
Protests and clashes between police and demonstrators occurred in various cities, including Lille in the north, Toulouse in the southwest, as well as Amiens, Dijon, and the Essonne administrative department south of Paris, according to a police spokesperson.
The Nanterre prosecutor is expected to provide an update on the ongoing investigation into the teenager’s shooting during an 11:00 press conference.
President Emmanuel Macron’s office announced that a cabinet crisis meeting has been scheduled for Thursday.
