The French government is considering “all options,” including the declaration of a state of emergency, following a third night of riots in response to a police shooting that left one young man wounded and resulted in more than 650 arrests and around 250 officers injured.
Several cities in France, especially in the Paris region, experienced violent overnight protests with attacks on public buildings, looting of stores, and burning of vehicles, despite the deployment of 40,000 police and gendarmes.
President Emmanuel Macron convened a crisis meeting in Paris, the second in two days, forcing him to cut short his participation in a summit in Brussels with European Union leaders. Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne said all options will be examined to restore order, including the possibility of declaring a state of emergency.
The right and far-right have been demanding this measure since Tuesday, when the riots began, as it allows the authorities to take exceptional measures, such as a travel ban. However, the government has doubts, as City Minister Olivier Klein indicated that declaring a state of emergency would mean recognizing a “failure.”
The violence erupted after the death of 17-year-old Nahel from a point-blank shot by an officer during a traffic stop in Nanterre, west of Paris. The riots have reignited the debate over police violence in France, where in 2022, thirteen people died in similar circumstances. Last night, there were attacks on stores in Les Halles shopping center and on Rivoli Street, which leads to the Louvre museum in Paris. Attacks on police stations, town halls, and schools were also reported in different cities. In the Pablo Picasso neighborhood of Nanterre, where Nahel lived, there were vehicles set on fire, rockets fired, and even a bank branch set on fire.
The Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, reported that 667 people were arrested and 249 policemen and gendarmes were injured, none seriously, during the night. The police officer responsible for the shooting was remanded in custody.
The UN has called for the problems of racism and racial discrimination among security forces to be seriously addressed, and Germany has also expressed its concern about the situation in France.