France's president calls for calm as riots continue

By Stefan J. Bos  

In the French capital Paris and other areas of France, shops were ransacked, and cars were set on fire despite a heavy police presence.

The unrest began Tuesday in the Paris working-class suburb of Nanterre after police shot dead a 17-year-old boy of Algerian and Moroccan descent named Nahel M. as he drove away from a traffic stop.

The detained officer who allegedly shot Nahel later apologized to the family. He has been charged with voluntary homicide, and his lawyer said he was "devastated" over the shooting.

Yet Nahel's death has revived grievances about reported police abuse and racial profiling in France's suburbs, where many migrants live.

French President Emmanuel Macron made clear he understood the frustration, but he condemned the protest violence.

"Clearly, the emotion that comes with the death of a young man calls for contemplation and calm. And it's what the government has constantly called for. This should continue to guide the next hours and the tributes," he said.

"Nonetheless, it has been the subject of reactions, presumably attempts to change what happened, and the last hours have been marked by violent scenes against police stations but also against schools and town halls. And basically against institutions and the republic. It's absolutely unjustifiable," the French president added.  

As he began a new round of high-level security talks, Macron also said 492 buildings were damaged, 2,000 vehicles burned, and 3,880 fires were started by rioters overnight.

At least 875 people were detained as clashes between police and protesters in France continued for a third night, according to authorities.

Heavier police presence

President Macron announced that even more police would be deployed on the streets after France had already mobilized 40,000 additional security forces.  

He urged parents to keep their children away from the riots. And Marcon lashed out at social media, which he said had been inflaming violence by facilitating the organization of violent protests, and he requested the "most sensitive" content to be removed.

However, President Macron has also faced criticism for attending an Elton John concert and posing for backstage pictures with the British pop star a day after Tuesday's shooting amid the ongoing riots.

Critics called it the wrong timing for a leader facing potentially the worst domestic crisis in his presidency.

French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said "all options" were on the table when asked Friday if a state of emergency was being considered.

Yet not all local authorities awaited the central government's response, with the southern city of Marseille banning public demonstrations and halting public transport later on Friday.

But with smoke still rising over parts of France, these measures have done little to restore calm to this riots-ridden nation.