French Government deploys 45,000 police officers to combat riots and looting
The French Government has deployed 45,000 police officers, as riots in the country continue for a fourth evening.
The riots were sparked after the shooting of a 17-year-old boy by a police officer in Paris on Tuesday – and public buildings and cars have been targeted by prostesters and looters.
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin asked local authorities to halt bus and tram traffic from 9pm across France.
He said this evening (30 June): ”The next hours will be decisive and I know I can count on your flawless efforts.”
Asked on TF1’s main evening television news programme whether the government could declare a state of emergency, Darmanin said: “Quite simply, we’re not ruling out any hypothesis and we’ll see after tonight what the President of the Republic chooses.”
He added 917 people were arrested on Thursday night – some of them as young as aged 13,
Police started clearing protesters from the iconic central Paris square of Place de la Concorde on Friday evening after an impromptu demonstration.
Looters ransacked shops including an Apple store in Strasbourg on Friday, a local official said.
In the Chatelet Les Halles shopping mall in central Paris, a Nike shoe store was broken into, and several people were arrested after store windows were smashed along the adjacent Rue de Rivoli shopping street, police said.
A young man has also died on this evening after falling from the roof of a supermarket in the suburbs of the northern French city of Rouen during riots.
Police said the man fell as the supermarket in the suburb of Petit-Quevilly in the Bruyeres shopping centre, was being looted by rioters.
The public prosecution office earlier told BFM TV that, based on the ongoing investigation, it was not established the store had been subject to a looting attempt.
There have now been 49 arrests in Marseille, BFMTV reports.
“Many violent groups are still present in the city center of Marseille”, warned the prefecture of Bouches-du-Rhône.
Today the UK Government warned British tourists about travelling to France after a third night of protests across the country.
The Foreign Office stated in updated guidance for travel to the country that Britons may face disruptions on French roads and local transport provision may be reduced.
Additional reporting by Reuters.
