France to deploy 40,000 police to deal with riots over teen's death
Forty thousand police were deployed on Thursday evening in France - and bus and tram services halted early in Paris - as the government battled to avoid a third night of rioting, following the death of a teenage boy at the hands of police.
It was announced that 40,000 officers will be deployed on Thursday night to try and avoid a repeat of the clashes in towns and cities around France.
Paris regional transport operators said that bus and tram services will be halted at 9pm, although the Metro will continue to run as normal. The tram and bus services are for many the only connections to Paris' outer suburbs, where the Metro does not reach.
After several trams and buses were targeted at Wednesday's protests, the decision was made "to ensure the protection of staff and passengers," regional president Valerie Pécresse said on Twitter.
Earlier on Thursday President Emmanuel Macron summoned his top ministers to an 8am meeting, as the country woke to further scenes of violence and arson from towns and cities around France.
At the beginning of the crisis meeting he reportedly told ministers that the violence of Wednesday night was "unjustifiable".
"The last few hours have been marked by scenes of violence against police stations, but also schools and town halls... against institutions and the Republic," Macron told a meeting of ministers at the interior ministry, adding that "these (attacks) are absolutely unjustifiable".
The government did not heed calls from politicians on the right to declare a national state of emergency, and appears to be opting for trying to quell the anger over the shooting.
The officer who fired the fatal shot was on Thursday charged with voluntary homicide over the death, the prosecutor on Thursday morning gave a press conference saying there was "no justification" for his use of the weapon.
READ ALSO Second night of rioting rocks France after police killing
Clashes began on Tuesday night after the death of a 17-year-old boy at the hands of police in a Paris suburb, and on Wednesday night the violence spread to towns across France, including the suburbs of Lyon, Toulouse and Dijon.
Police initially said that the officer shot 17-year-old Nahel M in self defence after he refused to stop for a traffic check. However mobile phone footage widely shared on social media shows the officer pointing his gun through the window of the stationary car and shouting 'I'll put a bullet in your head' before shooting at point blank range.
Macron has described the shooting as "inexplicable and inexcusable" - unusually strong words in a country where the government is traditionally reluctant to criticise police.
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, normally a staunch defender of the police, described the footage as "shocking . . . and not within the laws of the republic".
The officer has been charged with manslaughter and remains in custody.
There are fears that the violence could develop into the weeks of rioting seen across France in 2005, which also began with the deaths of two young boys at the hands of police.
OPINION Paris violence could spiral into nationwide violence like 2005
The Local's politics expert John Lichfield said: "There are worrying parrallels to 2005, on that occasion, two young men died at the hands of police after being chased into an electricity sub-station and then police lied about it.
"The difference here I think is that in 2005 that police lie was repeated by the then-interior minister - Nicolas Sarkozy - who said that the boys were criminals and there was a lot of disinformation put out and no real attempt to calm the anger that spread to pretty much every small or medium sized town in France and went on for three weeks.
"On this occasion although the police are more directly involved - an officer shot the boy at point blank range and there doesn't seem to be any justification for it - the government has at least said that the video of the incident is shocking, nothing appears to justify what the policeman did, there will be a proper investigation.
"So the government at least seem to have learned some lessons from 2005.
"But if the riots start to spread to other towns and suburbs then it could easily spiral."
Hear more from John and the team at The Local in the latest episode of the Talking France podcast. Download the podcast here or listen on the link below.
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It was announced that 40,000 officers will be deployed on Thursday night to try and avoid a repeat of the clashes in towns and cities around France.
Paris regional transport operators said that bus and tram services will be halted at 9pm, although the Metro will continue to run as normal. The tram and bus services are for many the only connections to Paris' outer suburbs, where the Metro does not reach.
After several trams and buses were targeted at Wednesday's protests, the decision was made "to ensure the protection of staff and passengers," regional president Valerie Pécresse said on Twitter.
Earlier on Thursday President Emmanuel Macron summoned his top ministers to an 8am meeting, as the country woke to further scenes of violence and arson from towns and cities around France.
At the beginning of the crisis meeting he reportedly told ministers that the violence of Wednesday night was "unjustifiable".
"The last few hours have been marked by scenes of violence against police stations, but also schools and town halls... against institutions and the Republic," Macron told a meeting of ministers at the interior ministry, adding that "these (attacks) are absolutely unjustifiable".
The government did not heed calls from politicians on the right to declare a national state of emergency, and appears to be opting for trying to quell the anger over the shooting.
The officer who fired the fatal shot was on Thursday charged with voluntary homicide over the death, the prosecutor on Thursday morning gave a press conference saying there was "no justification" for his use of the weapon.
READ ALSO Second night of rioting rocks France after police killing
Clashes began on Tuesday night after the death of a 17-year-old boy at the hands of police in a Paris suburb, and on Wednesday night the violence spread to towns across France, including the suburbs of Lyon, Toulouse and Dijon.
Police initially said that the officer shot 17-year-old Nahel M in self defence after he refused to stop for a traffic check. However mobile phone footage widely shared on social media shows the officer pointing his gun through the window of the stationary car and shouting 'I'll put a bullet in your head' before shooting at point blank range.
Macron has described the shooting as "inexplicable and inexcusable" - unusually strong words in a country where the government is traditionally reluctant to criticise police.
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, normally a staunch defender of the police, described the footage as "shocking . . . and not within the laws of the republic".
The officer has been charged with manslaughter and remains in custody.
There are fears that the violence could develop into the weeks of rioting seen across France in 2005, which also began with the deaths of two young boys at the hands of police.
OPINION Paris violence could spiral into nationwide violence like 2005
The Local's politics expert John Lichfield said: "There are worrying parrallels to 2005, on that occasion, two young men died at the hands of police after being chased into an electricity sub-station and then police lied about it.
"The difference here I think is that in 2005 that police lie was repeated by the then-interior minister - Nicolas Sarkozy - who said that the boys were criminals and there was a lot of disinformation put out and no real attempt to calm the anger that spread to pretty much every small or medium sized town in France and went on for three weeks.
"On this occasion although the police are more directly involved - an officer shot the boy at point blank range and there doesn't seem to be any justification for it - the government has at least said that the video of the incident is shocking, nothing appears to justify what the policeman did, there will be a proper investigation.
"So the government at least seem to have learned some lessons from 2005.
"But if the riots start to spread to other towns and suburbs then it could easily spiral."
Hear more from John and the team at The Local in the latest episode of the Talking France podcast. Download the podcast here or listen on the link below.
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