NB Explains | Paris protests: Macron urges calm amid violence; deploys 40,000 officers to control riots

Paris, Jun 30: French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday (Jun 29) urged calm and called the violence "unjustifiable", after protests spread across the country following a 17-year-old boy being shot dead by police.

 

 

 

 

The teenager, identified as Nael was killed after being stopped for a traffic violation in the Paris suburb town of Nanterre on Tuesday, and the officer who is accused of shooting him was taken to jail. Taking to Twitter, Macron said, "Violence against police stations, schools, town halls, against the Republic, is unjustifiable. Thank you to the police, gendarmes, firefighters and elected officials mobilized. Meditation, Justice and calm must guide the next few hours".

 

 

 

He also convened a crisis meeting with senior ministers on Thursday in the wake of the situation, CNN reported. Speaking at the meeting, Macron said: "Clearly the emotion that comes with the death of a young man calls for contemplation and calm, and it's what the government has constantly called for. I think this is what should continue to guide the next hours and the tributes." Calling the violence as "absolutely unjustifiable", the French President thanked those who are working to bring back calm.

 

 

 

 

 

"The last hours have been marked by violent scenes against police stations but also schools and town halls, and basically against institutions and the Republic. It's absolutely unjustifiable," Macron said. He added, "I would like to thank those who are out during the night, like yesterday, to protect these institutions and bring back calm". In another statement, Macron defended the 'right to protest' and urged people to maintain calm "We have always safeguarded the right to protest...but we need harmony and we need a lot of collective goodwill," President Emmanuel Macron told the newspaper Ouest France, while urging calm, reported France24.

 

 

 

According to earlier reports, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin tweeted that "town halls, schools and police stations were set on fire or attacked" during a night of "unbearable violence," adding, "Shame on those who did not call for peace." People are enraged over the fatal shooting of Nael by police during a traffic stop on Tuesday in the Paris suburb of Nanterre, as per CNN. According to French authorities, the incident sparked violent protests on Tuesday night that left 24 police officers injured and 40 cars on fire in numerous Paris suburbs. Authorities also said 2,000 extra police officers were mobilised on Wednesday afternoon in case the unrest continued into a second evening.

 

 

 

 

 

According to the Interior Ministry, French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday chaired a meeting of the inter-ministerial crisis unit over the incident and the protests that followed. A day before, Macron spoke to journalists in Marseille and said, "Nothing, nothing justifies the death of a young man."

 

 

 

"I would like to express the emotion of the entire nation at the death of young Nael, and give his family of our solidarity and the affection of the nation," said Macron adding, "We need calm for justice to carry out its work. And we need calm everywhere because the situation we can't allow the situation to worsen," as per CNN.

 

 

 

 

 

Meanwhile, the French Interior Ministry said on Thursday that it is mobilizing 40,000 police officers to deal with riots that have spread across France, DW News reported. "The state must be firm in its response, tonight 40,000 policemen will be mobilized, including 5,000 in the Paris region, versus 9,000 yesterday," Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said. The officers will also be deployed to towns and cities across France where riots spread on Wednesday night. "170 officers were injured in last night's clashes and 180 people were arrested," Darmanin added. A French prosecutor said the police officer who shot a 17-year-old on Tuesday had been placed under formal investigation for "voluntary homicide" and would be brought before a judge on Thursday, DW News reported.

 

The Nanterre public prosecutor said the police officer could be indicted on Thursday, adding that the initial investigations showed that "the legal conditions for the use of the weapon (during the incident) were not met." An autopsy of the body of the victim showed that the cause of death was receiving a single shot from a gun, the prosecutor said. Irked by the teenager's death, protesters took to the streets in Nanterre. Images show firefighters extinguishing a burning car during the protests.

  

 

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