Tense situation prevailed across France for the fifth consecutive day after the death of the Arab teen Nahel. Amid protests and violence, the 17-year-old was laid to rest in Mont Valerein cemetery in Nanterre on Saturday.
Hundreds gathered on Saturday afternoon to attend the funeral service of Nahel. According to reports, the premises remained calm with no police officials seen nearby cemetery. However, heavy police was deployed in Nanterre, where Nahel was fatally shot by police earlier this week.
Wide protests and unrest spread across the country criticising the France's policing structures and methods after the teen's death.
All filming and even phones were banned for the funeral as the supporters of the family requested the media to keep away.
With another 322 people arrested on Sunday over 2,000 arrests were made so far, said the French Interior Ministry.
In the wake of the protests and riots, a ban was announced on large public events in France on Saturday. With many artists cancelling their trips and shows in France, even the tourism industry was affected. Reportedly, the government is planning to shutdown internet partially to disrupt the riots.
According to the France Interior Ministry, 2,560 fires had been reported on public roads, with 1,350 cars burned. Also 234 incidents of damage to buildings was also reported.
Police hold down a young person during the fifth night of protests following the death of Nahel, a 17-year-old teenager killed by a French police officer in Nanterre during a traffic stop, in the Champs Elysees area, in Paris | Reuters
Around 45,000 police officers and armoured vehicles were deployed on the streets to quell the riots.
Cities including Marseille, Lyon, Toulouse, Strasbourg, Lille and Paris witnessed violence with people burning tires, looting stores, pelting stones on the police personnel and causing destruction to the public properties.
Wide clashes erupted in Marseille on Saturday evening, with the officials arresting 56 people from the city alone. Reportedly, the clashes continued for over an hour in the area between the rioters and police officials.
The Paris region stopped all buses and trams after 12:00 local time (19:00 GMT) for the second night, reported BBC. Special police forces were deployed in Lille to maintain order as well.
Macron postpones his Germany visit
In the wake of the riots, President Emmanuel Macron postponed his three-day visit to Germany.
Macron urged parents to keep their teens at home to quell the spreading riots across France. Macron pointed fingers on the social media encouraging teenagers to adopt copycat violence spreading wide protests.
Widespread looting was reported across the country. According to Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, 10 shopping malls, over 200 supermarkets, 250 tobacco shops and 250 bank outlets were attacked or looted by the rioters.
"The violence and looting across the nation is totally unacceptable," he said.
Store lootings were rampant with incidents reported in Marseille, Lyon, Grenoble and in many areas in Paris.
The police officer who fired the shot has been charged with murder and is held in pre-trial detention.
Nahel's mother, Mounia in an interview earlier said that "I blame one person, the one who took my son's life," she said. "He saw an Arab face, a little kid. He wanted to take his life."
A state of emergency was declared in 2005 after riots erupted when two boys were shot dead by the police.
The death of Nahel was the third incident of fatal shooting by police in France this year. Last year, there was a record of 13 such shootings.
The office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on Friday said that the shooting was a "moment for the country to seriously address the deep issues of racism and racial discrimination in law enforcement", reported The Guardian.
Since 2017, most of the victims of the shooting have been black or Arab origin.
Many critics view the French policing as "repressive", which has becomes a major political issue.
Marseille Mayor Benoit Payan called on the national government for deploying additional troops as well. "The scenes of pillaging and violence are unacceptable," he said in a tweet.
