The third consecutive night of violent protests spurred by the death of a teenager by a police officer has left 249 cops injured.
President Emmanuel Macron has canceled a trip to Brussels in order to attend a crisis meeting today.
Yesterday night, police detained 667 individuals across France after protesters clashed with police in various locations and set fire to schools, shops, and banks.
The bulk of those arrested overnight were between the ages of 14 and 18.
To suppress the unrest, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin claimed 40,000 officers, including elite Raid and GIGN units, had been dispatched to calm the protest.
Despite the enormous security deployment, violence and property damage were reported in a number of localities.
Protesters attacked municipal buildings, such as town halls and libraries in Marseille and the Seine-Saint-Denis department north of Paris.
The assassination of Nahel, 17, in Nanterre, a suburb west of Paris, ignited the protests. The tragedy has fueled longstanding allegations about police violence and systemic racism inside law enforcement institutions.
A video shared on social media showed two cops leaning into the car, one of whom was shooting as the driver drove away.
Nahel’s mother, named only as Mounia, told in an interview with France 5 that she did not blame the police.
“I blame one person, the one who took my son’s life”, she explained.
She claimed the cop, 38, who was arrested and charged with voluntary manslaughter on Thursday, “saw an Arab face, a little kid, and wanted to take his life”.
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