France: Teen buried, clashes continue; Hundreds arrested on the fifth night

Riots broke out across France following the murder of 17-year-old Nahel M by a policeman. Nahel was handed over to the ashes. On Saturday, the riots appeared to be subsiding, as thousands of police personnel were deployed in cities across the country.

Updates related to unrest in France

– Nahel was cremated in Nanterre, a suburb of Paris where he lived. Hundreds of people attended the funeral peacefully, including his mother and grandmother. In the afternoon a ceremony took place at Nanterre’s mosque and the burial took place at the region’s vast Mont Valérian cemetery.

– Nahel, of Algerian origin, was shot by a police officer during a traffic stop in the Paris suburb of Nanterre on Tuesday.

– President Emmanuel Macron postponed a state visit to Germany that was to begin on Sunday to deal with the worst crisis of his leadership since the “yellow vest” protests that rocked much of France in late 2018. Paralyzed.

– About 45,000 police personnel, along with specialized elite units, armored vehicles and helicopters, were deployed to reinforce France’s three largest cities, Paris, Lyon and Marseille.

– According to foreign media, as of Sunday morning (local time), the situation was calmer than the previous four nights, although there was some tension in central Paris and sporadic clashes in the Mediterranean cities of Marseille, Nice and the eastern city of Strasbourg.

– The biggest clashes occurred in Marseille, where police fired tear gas and fought street clashes with youths around the city center until late into the night.

– The interior ministry said 1,311 people were arrested on Friday night, compared with 875 the previous night, although it described the violence as “less intense”. Police said about 200 people were arrested across the country on Saturday.

– Rioters have torched 2,000 vehicles since the riots began. Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on Saturday that more than 200 police officers had been injured and that the average age of those arrested was 17.

– The riots have raised concerns abroad, with France set to host the Rugby World Cup in the autumn and the Paris Olympic Games in the summer of 2024.

– Britain and other European countries have updated their travel advisories to warn tourists to stay away from riot-hit areas.