(TheLastPatriotNews.com) – Over 20 police stations throughout France have been attacked by violent protesters, primarily of Arab and African immigrant background, amid widespread rioting over the death of a 17-year-old driving without a license.
Sunday night was the sixth consecutive night of rioting, looting, and arson all over France after last week violent rallies erupted as 17-year-old Nahel Merzouk, of Algerian descent, was shot and killed while defying police orders and trying to run away in his car.
More than 45,000 riot police officers were deployed throughout the country on Saturday night, the same as the night before, to try to fend off the rioters, including 7,000 in Paris, Breitbart News reports, citing AP.
The primarily minor protesters have been clashing with police, setting cars on fire, and attacking people every night since Nahel Merzouk’s death last Tuesday.
Footage of the 17-year-old’s death shows him getting shot after starting his vehicle and trying to speed away just as he was being interrogated by two police officers leaning on his car.
Merzouk was buried in his hometown outside of Paris on Saturday. On Sunday, the French Interior Ministry said 719 rioters had been arrested overnight after Friday night saw about 1,300 arrests.
In the latest night of violence, the rioters injured 45 officers, torched 577 cars and 74 buildings, and lit 871 fires in public places.
“A calmer night thanks to the resolute action of the security forces,” France’s Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin wrote on Twitter Sunday.
At the end of last week, the rioting led the French authorities to stop all public transportation, while numerous towns declared overnight curfews.
“They came specifically to do damage, loot, and leave. We’re really disgusted by what’s happening,” Youcef Bettahar, a shopkeeper at the Merlan shopping mall in Marseille, told the Associated Press.
The violent street riots nationwide led French President Emmanuel Macron to cancel a scheduled state visit in Germany and to hold a crisis meeting of his Cabinet instead.
He urged parents to take responsibility for the actions of underage rioters, one-third of whom were described as “young or very young.”
According to Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti, 30% of those arrested were minors, while Interior Minister Darmanin said the average age of the arrested rioters was only 17.
The French government said that hundreds more had been arrested in a fifth night of rioting sparked by the police killing of a 17-year-old. https://t.co/A37ngtP0yf
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) July 2, 2023
