French authorities made hundreds of arrests on the fifth night of unrest sparked by the fatal police shooting of a 17-year-old, but reports from across the country indicated that rioting was much less intense.
A total of 486 people had been arrested across the country by 3am on Sunday, interior minister Gérald Darmanin said, adding that the level of violence appeared to have declined since rioting first broke out over the death of Nahel M in the Paris suburb of Nanterre on Tuesday.
“A calmer night thanks to the resolute action of the security forces,” Darmanin tweeted early on Sunday.
Darmanin told reporters earlier that 45,000 members of the security forces would be deployed overnight Saturday into Sunday – the same number as the night before. Extra forces and equipment were sent to Lyon, Grenoble and Marseille, which saw intense rioting on Friday night.
In Paris and its nearby regions, where about 7,000 officers were out in force, 126 people had been arrested by 1.30am Sunday.
Police increased security at the city’s landmark Champs Elysees avenue after a call on social media to gather there. The street, usually packed with tourists, was lined with security forces carrying out spot checks. Shop facades were boarded up to prevent potential damage and pillaging.
The biggest flashpoint was in Marseille where police fired teargas and fought street battles with youths around the city centre late into the night. However, by midnight, authorities in Marseille and Lyon were reporting fewer incidents than the previous night, with 56 and 21 people arrested in the two cities, respectively.
Local authorities all over the country announced bans on demonstrations, ordered public transport to stop running in the evening and some imposed overnight curfews.
On Saturday, president Emmanuel Macron postponed a state visit to Germany that was due to begin on Sunday to handle the worst crisis for his leadership since the “Yellow Vest” protests paralysed much of France in late 2018. Macron recently faced months of anger and sometimes violent demonstrations across the country after pushing through a pension overhaul.
Nahel, who had Algerian and Moroccan parents, was shot by a police officer during a traffic stop. On Saturday, friends and family attended a private funeral for the teenager.
A large crowd gathered outside the local mosque and followed the coffin to the cemetery, many chanting “Justice for Nahel”. Lawyers for relatives had asked journalists to stay away from the ceremony, saying it was “a day for Nahel’s family” to mourn “with discretion”.
The shooting of the teenager, caught on video, has reignited longstanding complaints of police violence and racism. Macron has denied there is systemic racism in French law enforcement agencies.
A 38-year-old policeman has been charged with voluntary homicide over Nahel’s death and has been remanded in custody.
Over five days, rioters have torched 2,000 vehicles and more than 200 police officers have been injured, Darmanin said on Saturday, adding that the average age of those arrested was 17.
More than 700 shops, supermarkets, restaurants and bank branches had been “ransacked, looted and sometimes even burnt to the ground since Tuesday”, finance minister Bruno Le Maire said.
The unrest has raised concerns abroad, with France hosting the Rugby World Cup in the autumn and the Paris Olympic Games in the summer of 2024. Britain and other European countries updated their travel advice to warn tourists to stay away from areas affected by the rioting.
Reuters and Agence France-Presse contributed to this report
