France riots - live: Mayor claims protesters ‘try to assassinate his family’ in fifth night of violence

Riots continued to rage in France overnight, as over 700 people have been arrested across the country in the fifth night of unrest since a teenager was shot dead by a police officer.

Nationwide arrests were somewhat lower than the night before, which Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin attributed to “the resolute action of security forces”, as 45,000 police were deployed overnight - although arrests still numbered 719 by early Sunday.

A burning car hit the home of the mayor of the Paris suburb of l’Hay-les-Roses overnight, while Marseille appeared to be a flashpoint, with police firing tear gas and fighting street battles with protestors late into the night in the city centre.

Earlier on Saturday, emotional mourners paid tribute at the funeral of 17-year-old Nahel Merzouk in the Parisian suburb of Nanterre, where the teenager was fatally shot in the chest during a police traffic stop.

Therese, 60, a friend of the family who lives next door to Nahel’s grandmother, described Nahel as “kind and smiley” and told The Independent the community is in complete shock.

French President Emmanuel Macron has postponed a state visit to Germany, which was due to begin on Sunday, because of the ongoing violence.

Key Points

• France endures fifth night of violence

• Mourners gather outside mosque for funeral of ‘kind, smiley’ Nahel

• French President postpones state visit to Germany because of unrest in France

• UK issues France travel warning after looting across city

• Teen’s mother speaks out for the first time since shooting

• UN says shooting a chance to address racism in police

French mayor says home ram-raided in ‘assassination attempt on family'

10:30 , Tara Cobham

A Paris suburb mayor said his home was ram-raided and set alight while his wife and children were asleep inside in what he has called an “assassination attempt” on his family amid the unrest that has gripped France following Tuesday’s shooting of a teenager by a police officer.

Vincent Jeanbrun, mayor of the southern suburb of L'Hay-les-Roses, said his wife and one of their two children, aged five and seven, were injured as they fled the building in the early hours.

The official said in a statement posted on his Twitter account on Sunday: “Last night, a milestone was reached in horror and ignominy. My home was attacked and my family was the victim of an assassination attempt.”

Jeanbrun, from the conservative Les Republicains party, was not at home but at the town hall during the incident. The town hall has been the target of attack for several nights since the shooting and has been protected with barbed wire and barricades.

"At 1.30am, as I was in the town hall just like the two previous nights, people ram-raided my home before starting a fire to torch my house, where my wife and my two young children were sleeping," he said.

"While attempting to shield them and fleeing the attackers, my wife and one of my children got hurt."

He added: “My determination to protect and serve the Republic is greater than ever. I will not back down.”

The local prosecutor told reporters that an investigation into attempted murder had been opened. No suspects have been arrested.

The prosecutor said the woman was injured as she fled through the backyard of the house.

Burning car hit home of mayor of Paris suburb overnight

10:00 , Tara Cobham

A burning car hit the home of the mayor of the Paris suburb of l'Hay-les-Roses overnight.

Several schools, police stations, town halls and shops have been targeted by fires or vandalism in recent days but such a personal attack on a mayor's home is unusual.

Watch: Fires burn on popular shopping avenue in Marseille as unrest continues

09:30 , Tara Cobham

France endures fifth night of violence

09:06 , Tara Cobham

France has endured a fifth night of violence following a day when emotional mourners gathered for the funeral of a teenager whose killing by police sparked nationwide unrest.

Even though the rioting appeared to be less intense on Saturday, with tens of thousands of police deployed in cities across the country, more than 700 people were arrested. Police fired tear gas and fought street battles with protestors late into the night in flashpoint Marseilles.

Earlier in the day, 17-year-old Nahel Merzouk was laid to rest in the Paris suburb of Nanterre, where he had been shot dead by a police officer during a traffic stop on Tuesday, triggering days of fierce clashes.

Read more:

France endures fifth night of violence with street battles in Marseille

Watch: Riot police deployed on Champs-Elysees after funeral of teenager shot by police

08:36 , Tara Cobham

Riot police were deployed to the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris on Saturday, 1 July, after a call on social media to gather there following the funeral of a teenager who was shot dead by an officer earlier this week during a traffic stop.

Nahel Merzouk, 17, was laid to rest yesterday following an Islamic ceremony close to his home in the Paris suburb of Nanterre.

Footage shows a heavy police presence on the popular shopping street lined with luxury fashion houses.

Shop facades were boarded up to prevent potential damage and police carried out spot checks in the area.

Holly Patrick reports:

Riot police deployed on Champs-Elysees after funeral of teenager shot by police

‘Nahel’s story is the lighter that ignited the gas'

07:25 , Tara Cobham

The reaction to the killing was a potent reminder of the persistent poverty, discrimination, unemployment and other lack of opportunity in neighborhoods around France where many residents trace their roots to former French colonies — like where Nahel grew up.

"Nahel's story is the lighter that ignited the gas. Hopeless young people were waiting for it. We lack housing and jobs, and when we have (jobs), our wages are too low," said Samba Seck, a 39-year-old transportation worker in the Paris suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois.

Clichy was the birthplace of weeks of riots in 2005 that shook France, prompted by the deaths of two teenagers electrocuted in a power substation while fleeing from police. One of the boys lived in the same housing project as Seck.

Like many Clichy residents, he lamented the violence targeting his town, where the remains of a burned car stood beneath his apartment building, and the town hall entrance was set alight in rioting this week.

"Young people break everything, but we are already poor, we have nothing," he said, adding that "young people are afraid to die at the hands of police."

China complains to France after Chinese tourists hurt in riots

07:02 , Maroosha Muzaffar

China’s Consulate General in Marseille complained to France after a bus carrying a Chinese tour group in the southern city had its windows smashed leading to minor injuries, China’s Consular Affairs Office said in a statement on Sunday.

The Consulate General’s formal complaint called for France to ensure the safety of Chinese citizens and their property, the statement said.

The bus was attacked by rioters on Thursday, according to state broadcaster CCTV, during the violence which hit French cities in recent days since the police shooting of a teenager of North African descent. The Chinese tourists have since left France, the Consular Office statement said.

Chinese citizens in France or heading to France should “strengthen prevention” and be “more vigilant and cautious” in light of the riots which have swept across the country in recent days, the Consular office statement added.

Rioting across France appeared to be less intense on Saturday, as tens of thousands of police had been deployed in cities across the country after the funeral of the teenager, although there was some tension in central Paris and sporadic clashes in Nice, Strasbourg and Marseille.

-Reuters

Is it safe to travel to Paris right now?

07:00 , Maroosha Muzaffar

Clashes first erupted on Tuesday night in Nanterre, a town in the western suburbs of Paris, and nearby.

On Saturday, a funeral was held for the teen amid tensions as interior minister Gerald Darmanin claimed that the level of violence appeared to have declined compared to previous nights.

Is it safe to travel to Paris right now?

ICYMI: Rioters attack Strasbourg Apple store over Paris police shooting

06:30 , Maroosha Muzaffar

Rioters attacked an Apple store in Strasbourg, France, on Friday (June 30) after a 17-year-old of Algerian and Moroccan descent was shot by a police officer on Tuesday in the Nanterre suburb of Paris.

Video from La Presse Libre shows people throwing stones and breaking into the shop.

It comes as unrest has flared nationwide for four consecutive nights after the death of the teenager, who has been named as Nahel Merzouk, which was caught on video.

The officer responsible - identified as Florian M., 38 - is on remand after being charged with murder.

Rioters attack Strasbourg Apple store over Paris police shooting

Watch: View of Nanterre as funeral held for teenager shot dead by French police

06:09 , Maroosha Muzaffar

Watch a view of Nanterre, a Paris suburb, on Saturday (1 July) as the funeral is held for a teenager who was shot dead by a French police officer.

Nahel Merzouk, 17, died after he was shot in the chest as he sat at the wheel of a stationary Mercedes last Tuesday.

The teenager was laid to rest after an Islamic ceremony close to his home in the north-western Paris suburb,

Nahel’s death sparked widespread unrest for four consecutive nights, as cars and buildings were set ablaze and stores were looted.

Watch live: View of Nanterre as funeral held for teenager shot dead by French police

More than 700 shops, restaurants and bank branches looted and ransacked since Tuesday

05:30 , Maroosha Muzaffar

Rioters have torched 2,000 vehicles since the start of the unrest. More than 200 police officers have been injured, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said yesterday, adding that the average age of those arrested was 17.

Justice Minister Eric Dupont-Moretti said 30 per cent of detainees were under 18.

More than 700 shops, supermarkets, restaurants and bank branches had been “ransacked, looted and sometimes even burnt to the ground since Tuesday”, finance minister Bruno Le Maire said.

In Marseille, where 80 people had been arrested on Friday, police said they had detained 60 people.

“It’s very scary. We can hear a helicopter and are just not going out because it’s very worrying,” said Tatiana, 79, a pensioner who lives in the city centre.

In Lyon, France’s third largest city, police deployed armoured personnel carriers and a helicopter.

The unrest has revived memories of nationwide riots in 2005 that lasted three weeks and forced then-President Jacques Chirac to declare a state of emergency, after the death of two young men electrocuted in a power substation as they hid from police.

Players from the national soccer team issued a rare statement calling for calm. “Violence must stop to leave a way for mourning, dialogue and reconstruction,” they said on star Kylian Mbappe’s Instagram account.

- Reuters

Mourners bury slain teen in France as 45,000 police are deployed and 5th night of unrest is quieter

04:30 , Maroosha Muzaffar

Hushed and visibly anguished, hundreds of mourners from France’s Islamic community formed a solemn procession from a mosque to a hillside cemetery on Saturday to bury a 17-year-old whose killing by police has triggered days of rioting and looting across the nation.

Underscoring the gravity of the crisis, President Emmanuel Macron scrapped an official trip to Germany after nights of unrest across France.

The government deployed 45,000 police to city streets across the nation to head off a fifth night of violence. Overnight, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin tweeted that the night had been calmer than previous ones, thanks to “the resolute action of security forces.”

He put the night’s arrest toll at 427.

Some 2,800 people have been arrested overall since the teen’s death on Tuesday. Darmanin tweeted late Saturday that 200 riot police had been mobilized in the port city of Marseille, where TV showed footage of police using tear gas as night fell.

Near the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, hundreds of police with batons and shields stood restlessly along the Champs-Elysées, several in front of the shuttered Cartier boutique. Posts on social media had called for protests on the grand boulevard but the police presence appeared to discourage any large gatherings.

Earlier in the day at a hilltop cemetery in Nanterre, the Paris suburb where the teen identified only as Nahel was killed, hundreds stood along the road to pay tribute as mourners carried his white casket from a mosque to the burial site.

Journalists were barred from the ceremony and in some cases even chased away. Some of the men carried folded prayer rugs.

“Men first,” an official told dozens of women waiting to enter the cemetery. But Nahel’s mother, dressed in white, walked inside to applause and headed toward the grave.

Many of the men were young and Arab or Black, coming to mourn a boy who could have been them.

- AP

Hundreds arrested on fifth night of unrest in France

04:00 , Maroosha Muzaffar

Hundreds were arrested on the fifth night of unrest in France after the teen was laid to rest yesterday.

Local reports citing the interior minister said that a total of 427 people have been arrested today.

Le Monde reported that violence sparked by the fatal police shooting of a teenager appeared to be declining.

Outrage and agony at funeral of boy whose ‘execution’ set France alight

03:42 , Maroosha Muzaffar

As Nahel’s coffin was lowered into the ground, his mother bravely declared: ‘It is finished.’ But Bel Trew is told the country’s reckoning with racism and nights of rioting are only just beginning.

Read here:

Outrage and agony at funeral of boy whose ‘execution’ set France alight

Heavy police presence in Paris

03:00 , Matt Drake

Around 7,000 extra officers were deployed to the French capital.

Pictures show officers heavily armed in riot gear.

Police special forces deployed

02:00 , Matt Drake

In the northern city of Lille, police special forces have been seen taking to the street in anticipation of any further rioting.

The elite Recherche, Assistance, Intervention, Dissuasion (RAID) were pictured manning checkpoints around the city, the BBC reported.

Average age of those arrested just 17-years-old

01:00 , Matt Drake

The figure was announced by French Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin.

It comes after it was revealed by authorities that 30 per cent of those arrested are minors, with 12-13-year-old arsonists reported to have been caught by police.

Looting of businesses by 'gangs of young people'

Sunday 2 July 2023 00:38 , Holly Bancroft

The mayor of Nice said the city centre was looted by a "gang of young people", BFMTV reported.

According to Christian Estrosi, the individuals were "quickly arrested".

Hundreds of arrests across France

Saturday 1 July 2023 23:49 , Matt Drake

The French Ministry of the Interior has confirmed 55 arrests in Marseille and 80 arrests in Paris.

There have been confirmed instances of looting by gangs of young people, according to French news reports.

Dozens of arrests in connection to nationwide riots - reports

Saturday 1 July 2023 23:10 , Holly Bancroft

121 people have been arrested across France on Saturday evening, according to police sources who have spoke to French broadcaster BFMTV.

56 of these arrests took place in Paris, they reported.

Officials have told local media that 21 people have also been arrested in the city of Lyon. Some were arrested for “carrying mortars, carrying prohibited weapons, and violence against a person holding authority and theft”. according to reports.

Clashes in Marseille during Saturday evening

Saturday 1 July 2023 23:00 , Matt Drake

Video circulating online shows police using tear gas against people in the city early Saturday evening.

According to French reports, 38 people have been arrested so far.

Outrage and agony at funeral of boy whose ‘execution’ set France alight

Saturday 1 July 2023 22:41 , Bel Trew

The Independent’s Chief International Correspondent Bel Trew reports from Nahel Marzouk’s funeral in Nanterre:

“The number of mourners was so large, crowds spilled out of the Parisian mosque and stopped traffic as they prayed in the middle of the street.

The killing of 17-year-old Nahel Marzouk by the police has been labelled an “execution” and has ignited the fury of the nation, sparking a level of unrest not seen in France for over a decade.

At least 2,400 people have been arrested across the country, curfews imposed and public transport curtailed as open street battles raged between protesters and police, and looting became rampant.

In response, President Emmanuel Macron deployed 45,000 officers, including elite anti-terrorism units and armoured vehicles which scour the streets.

But on Saturday, at Nahel’s funeral at a mosque in Nanterre, the west Paris suburb where he lived and was fatally shot, the most glaring absence was the security forces.”

Read more here:

Outrage and agony at funeral of boy whose ‘execution’ set France alight

Police carrying out weapons checks in Paris

Saturday 1 July 2023 22:08 , Holly Bancroft

Police are carrying out searches in Paris in anticipation of further violence this evening.

37 arrests have been made for carrying a weapon, according to a statement from the Paris police headquarters.

38 people arrested in Marseille

Saturday 1 July 2023 22:07 , Matt Drake

The number of people arrested in Marseille has risen to 38, according to BFMTV.

They include thee people who were caught red-handed in a tobacco shop in Cours Julien district.

Tensions rising in Marseille

Saturday 1 July 2023 21:21 , Holly Bancroft

Tensions are rising in Marseille with groups of protesters clashing with police. Sixteen people have been arrested so far, according to local media reports, but the violence is not widespread.

Some people tried to loot a “cash converters” store on the Grand Littoral and others tried to break into the Canebiere fire station. The groups were dispersed by the heavy police presence, according to reports.

Clashes between protesters and police in Marseille

Saturday 1 July 2023 21:05 , Holly Bancroft

Protesters have been photographed running from launched tear gas canisters during clashes with police in Marseille, southern France on Saturday, as rioting continued in France over the killing of a teenager by police.

France is braced for its fifth night of rioting tonight as police reinforcements are sent out to Marseille and Lyon

Saturday 1 July 2023 20:40 , Holly Bancroft

France faced its fifth night of rioting on Saturday night, with police reinforcements sent into cities in a bid to control the unrest that has torn through the country since a 17-year-old was shot dead by police in Paris.

Emmanuel Macron announced that he was cancelling his planned state visit to Germany after more than 1,300 arrests were made on Friday night in cities including the capital, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse - almost a third of them under the age of 18.

More than 200 police officers were injured, according to interior minister Gerald Darmanin.

In Nanterre, thousands came out for the funeral of Nahel Merzouk who died in the Paris suburb on Tuesday night.

Read the full story here:

France riots: Cities brace for fifth night of violence despite police reinforcements

Pictured: Onlookers wait next to the cemetery where Nahel Merzouk is laid to rest

Saturday 1 July 2023 18:02 , Holly Bancroft

People wait next to the entrance of Mont Valerien cemetery, where Nahel Merzouk has been laid to rest, in Nanterre, near Paris, France.

The 17-year-old was buried in cemetery, after an Islamic funeral near his home in Nanterre. Violence has broken out all over France after police fatally shot Nahel during a traffic stop in Nanterre on 27 June 2023.

Foued, 44, came to the funeral to pay tribute to Nahel. He told Le Parisien: “As soon as I saw the video, it shook me to the guts. We say to ourselves: ‘But why?’, and we have no answer.”

Recap: The clashes between authorities and protestors so far

Saturday 1 July 2023 17:00 , Tara Cobham

The interior ministry said 1,311 people had been arrested overnight, compared with 875 the previous night, although the violence was "lower in intensity".

The government deployed 45,000 police and several armoured vehicles overnight to tackle the continuing violence.

Looters have ransacked dozens of shops and torched 2,000 vehicles since the start of the riots, which have spread to cities such as Marseille, Lyon, Toulouse, Strasbourg and Lille.

More than 200 police officers have been injured, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said, adding that the average age of those arrested was 17.

Friday night's arrests included 80 people in Marseille, home to many people of North African descent.

Social media images showed an explosion rocking the old port area of the southern city, but no casualties were reported.

Rioters in France's second-largest city had looted a gun store and stole hunting rifles, but no ammunition, police said.

Mayor Benoit Payan called on the government to send extra troops to tackle "pillaging and violence" in Marseille, where three police officers were slightly wounded on Saturday.

In Lyon, France's third-largest city, police deployed armoured personnel carriers and a helicopter, while in Paris, they cleared protesters from the Place de la Concorde. Lyon Mayor Gregory Doucet has also called for reinforcements.

Darmanin had asked local authorities to halt buses and trams, while Macron urged parents to keep children at home.

The unrest has revived memories of nationwide riots in 2005 that forced then President Jacques Chirac to declare a state of emergency, after the death of two young men electrocuted in a power substation as they hid from police.

"Quite simply, we're not ruling out any hypothesis and we'll see after tonight what the President of the Republic chooses," Darmanin said on Friday when asked whether the government could declare a state of emergency.

Players from the national soccer team issued a rare statement calling for calm. "Violence must stop to leave way for mourning, dialogue and reconstruction," they said on star Kylian Mbappe's Instagram account.

Events including two concerts at the Stade de France on the outskirts of Paris were cancelled, while Tour de France organisers said they were ready to adapt to any situation when the cycle race enters the country on Monday from Spain.

Watch: Police clashing with rioters as unrest continued for fourth night

Saturday 1 July 2023 16:40 , Tara Cobham

Shooting of teenager has reignited tensions with police

Saturday 1 July 2023 16:20 , Tara Cobham

The shooting of the teenager, caught on video, has reignited longstanding complaints by poor and racially mixed urban communities of police violence and racism.

Macron had denied there is systemic racism in French law enforcement agencies.

"If you have the wrong skin colour, the police are much more dangerous to you," said a young man, who was attending Nahel’s funeral and declined to be named, adding that he was a friend of the 17-year-old’s.

Another mourner, Marie, 60, said she had lived in Nanterre for 50 years and there had always been problems with the police.

“This absolutely needs to stop. The government is completely disconnected from our reality,” she said.

Mother of 17-year-old shot in police stop says he is ‘in heaven'

Saturday 1 July 2023 15:49 , Holly Bancroft

The mother of 17-year-old Nahel Merzouk has told a crowd of women at her son’s funeral that he is now “in heaven”.

She told them: “It’s finished. Now he is in heaven”, Chief International Correspondent Bel Trew reports from the scene.

Friends and family have been attending the funeral of young Nahel in the north-west Paris suburb of Nanterre, where he was killed last Tuesday.

The 17-year-old’s funeral included mourners viewing his open coffin before it was taken to a mosque and then on to a cemetery.

Body of teenager now being buried in cemetery

Saturday 1 July 2023 14:50 , Tara Cobham

The body of 17-year-old Nahel Merzouk is now being buried in the Mont-Valérien cemetery in the north-western Parisian suburb of Nanterre.

The men have gone into the cemetery to the burial site, while women remain outside on the road.

French President postpones state visit to Germany because of unrest in France

Saturday 1 July 2023 14:20 , Tara Cobham

French President Emmanuel Macron has postponed a state visit to Germany because of the unrest in France, both countries have said.

The government deployed 45,000 police and several armoured vehicles overnight to tackle the worst crisis of Macron's leadership since the "Yellow Vest" protests, which brought much of France to a standstill in late 2018.

The French President’s state visit to Germany had been due to begin on Sunday but was postponed on Saturday afternoon.

Emotional mourners follow Nahel’s body to cemetry

Saturday 1 July 2023 14:14 , Bel Trew in Nanterre, Paris

Emotional mourners are following the body of 17-year-old Nahel Merzouk to the Mont-Valérien cemetery in Nanterre, where he will be laid to rest.

Hundreds left the Ibn Badis Mosque - where a funeral ceremony was held for the teenager - crying and chanting, “There is no deity except God [“la illaha illa allah” in Arabic].”

Crowds of people are now marching to the cemetery in front of the coffin, which is being driven in a car.

During the funeral prayers earlier, the lines of mourners were praying in the middle of the street.

Watch live: View of Nanterre as funeral held for teenager shot dead by French police

Saturday 1 July 2023 13:25 , Tara Cobham

Watch a live view of Nanterre, a Paris suburb, on Saturday (1 July) as the funeral is held for a teenager who was shot dead by a French police officer.

Nahel Merzouk, 17, died after he was shot in the chest as he sat at the wheel of a stationary Mercedes last Tuesday.

The teenager will be laid to rest after an Islamic ceremony close to his home in the north-western Paris suburb.

Holly Patrick reports:

Watch live: View of Nanterre as funeral held for teenager shot dead by French police

Mourners gather outside mosque for funeral of ‘kind, smiley’ Nahel

Saturday 1 July 2023 13:21 , Bel Trew in Nanterre, Paris

Queues of mourners, family members and friends are lining up outside of the Ibn Badis Mosque and institute in Nanterre where the funeral of Nahel is due to start soon. The overflow lined up for afternoon prayers on the street in front. A glaring absence in the area is the police.

The local community and the mosque set up barricades with their own volunteers as stand-in security. No riot police officers are to be seen, clearly an attempt to calm tensions around this difficult moment after days of violence.

Outside the mosque, Therese, 60 a friend of the family who lives next door to Nahel’s grandmother, says the community is in complete shock.

“Nahel, was kind and smiley - he helped me with my groceries. When he was younger I would give I’m pocket money,” she tells The Independent visibly upset.

“I’m shaken, we all are - especially as a mother with children living in this neighbourhood, we’re scared and extremely sad.

"He was so young he has his whole life in front of him- that is all gone.”

She said the way the authorities had originally portrayed Nahel as a “troublemaker” was disturbing and another example of how the youth in the more impoverished parts of Nanterre are treated.

“Every teenager does something a little rebellious we have all been 17. He has never done drugs, he wasn’t bad.”

“The police regularly verbally brutalise the young here,” she continues.

“Thank god there is a video, the police are lying all the time. This might make change.

“We have an expression - 100 years for the thief, one day for the master. This really embodies the situation here.”

Members of the Algerian French community said Nahel’s killing was the “final drop of water that caused the vase to overflow”.

“There is no equality if you’re not white,” said Hadhrami belhaschemi, 35 outside the mosque. “This is just one example of a problem with the whole system. I feel like I’m only French on paper.”

Sketch of Nehal shared

Saturday 1 July 2023 13:18 , Tara Cobham

A sketch of Nehal showing the 17-year-old drawn in black and white with the words “Justice for Nahel” written in blue letters across his chest has been shared with The Independent by his family’s lawyers.

The teenager was shot dead by a police officer in Nanterre last Tuesday, sparking four consecutive nights of violent riots across France between protestors and police.

More than 200 police officers injured in clashes

Saturday 1 July 2023 12:46 , Sam Rkaina

Buildings and vehicles have been torched and stores looted in the unrest, which has spread nationwide, including to cities such as Marseille, Lyon, Toulouse, Strasbourg and Lille.

More than 200 police officers have been injured, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said, adding that the average age of those arrested was 17. Looters have ransacked dozens of shops and torched some 2,000 vehicles since the riots started.

Friday night’s arrests included 80 people in Marseille, which is home to many people of North African descent.

Social media images showed an explosion rocking the old port area of the southern city, but authorities said they did not believe there were any casualties.

Rioters in France’s second-largest city had looted a gun store and stole hunting rifles, but no ammunition, police said.

Mayor Benoit Payan called on the government to send extra troops to tackle “pillaging and violence” in Marseille, where three police officers were slightly wounded early on Saturday.

In Lyon, France’s third-largest city, police deployed armoured personnel carriers and a helicopter, while in Paris, they cleared protesters from the Place de la Concorde.

Darmanin had asked local authorities to halt buses and trams, while Macron urged parents to keep children at home.

Watch live: View of Nanterre as funeral held for teenager shot dead by French police

Saturday 1 July 2023 12:11 , Sam Rkaina

You can watch a live view of Nanterre, a Paris suburb, on Saturday as the funeral is held for a teenager who was shot dead by a French police officer.

Nahel Merzouk, 17, died after he was shot in the chest as he sat at the wheel of a stationary Mercedes last Tuesday.

The teenager will be laid to rest after an Islamic ceremony close to his home in the north-western Paris suburb,

Click here for the live stream.

Watch: Police clash with rioters as unrest continues for fourth night

Saturday 1 July 2023 12:00 , Tara Cobham

Family and friends viewing coffin of teenager shot dead by police

Saturday 1 July 2023 11:42 , Tara Cobham

Family and friends are viewing the open coffin of 17-year-old Nahel Merzouk before it will be taken to a mosque for a ceremony and later burial in a town cemetery.

The Islamic ceremony will be held at 2pm (1pm UK time) at the Grande Mosquée Ibn Badis close to the teenager’s home in the Parisian suburb Nanterre.

Overnight arrests now number 1,311

Saturday 1 July 2023 10:41 , Tara Cobham

France's Interior Ministry said in an update on Saturday that 1,311 people were arrested around the country during a fourth night of riots triggered by the deadly shooting of a 17-year-old by police.

The government deployed 45,000 police around the country to try to quell violence. Overnight young protesters clashed with police, set some 2,500 fires and ransacked stores.

The funeral ceremony for Nahel, who was killed by police in the suburb of Nanterre on Tuesday, began Saturday with a visitation, to be followed by a mosque ceremony and burial in a cemetery there.

Watch: Rioters attack Strasbourg Apple store over Paris police shooting

Saturday 1 July 2023 10:18 , Tara Cobham

Rioters attacked an Apple store in Strasbourg, France, on Friday (June 30) after a 17-year-old of Algerian and Moroccan descent was shot by a police officer on Tuesday in the Nanterre suburb of Paris.

Video from La Presse Libre shows people throwing stones and breaking into the shop.

It comes as unrest has flared nationwide for four consecutive nights after the death of the teenager, who has been named as Nahel Merzouk, which was caught on video.

The officer responsible - identified as Florian M., 38 - is on remand after being charged with murder.

Graffiti in Nanterre illustrates anger that erupted after teenager’s killing

Saturday 1 July 2023 10:04 , Bel Trew in Nanterre, Paris

Graffiti in Nanterre, the suburb of Paris where Nahel was shot dead by a police officer, illustrates the anger that erupted there after the 17-year-old’s killing and quickly spread nationwide.

The fatal shooting of the teenager stirred up long-simmering tensions between police and young people in housing projects who struggle with poverty, unemployment and racial discrimination.

“Country of human rights” has been crossed out and replaced with “country of police immunity” on one wall in the area, while another piece of graffiti reads: “The life of the youth on the suburbs matters.”

Rioting rages across France for fourth night ahead of Nahel’s funeral

Saturday 1 July 2023 09:50 , Tara Cobham

Rioting raged across France for a fourth night as family and friends prepare to bury the 17-year-old whose killing by police sparked the unrest.

Despite a massive deployment of 45,000 police officers to the country’s streets, cars and buildings were set ablaze and stores were looted, while the interior ministry announced 994 arrests around the country by early Saturday.

Nahel Merzouk, 17, will be laid to rest following an Islamic ceremony close to his home in the north-western Paris suburb of Nanterre, where he was shot in the chest as he sat at the wheel of a stationary Mercedes last Tuesday.

Read more:

Rioting across France for fourth night as family prepare for funeral of shot teenager

Overnight clashes in cities across France

Saturday 1 July 2023 09:30 , Bel Trew In Nanterre, Paris

Overnight there were clashes between protesters and police in Marseille, Lyon and Grenoble, where security forces said shops have also been looted.

In Lyon, the French authorities deployed members of RAID - an elite tactical unit of the police.

French media reported that two police officers had been assaulted In Marseille, and in total 95 people had been arrested.

Violence also rocked Paris. Videos taken in the 18th arrondissement, a central area of Paris, and shown to The Independent showed groups of young people burning tyres and firing fireworks at security forces in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Nearly 1,000 arrested as police ‘at war’ while family prepare for funeral

Saturday 1 July 2023 08:32 , Tara Cobham

Nearly 1,000 people have been arrested across France overnight as police have claimed they are “at war” while the family of a teenager shot dead by an officer prepared for his funeral on Saturday.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin announced on Saturday morning that 994 people had been arrested in the fourth consecutive night of nationwide clashes while 79 were injured.

The violence was sparked by the killing of 17-year-old Nahel Merzouk, who will on Saturday be laid to rest following an Islamic ceremony close to his home in the north-western Paris suburb of Nanterre.

It was there that he was shot in the chest as he sat at the wheel of a stationary Mercedes last Tuesday.

The officer responsible - identified as Florian M., 38 - remains on remand having been charged with murder.

An extra 45,000 police have been deployed across the country, including multiple armed paramilitary units.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on Saturday: “It's France that is going to win, not the rioters.”

In turn, police claimed in a leaked intelligence report that they are “at wore with savage hordes of vermin” intent on attacking them and destroying as much property as possible.

The UK Foreign Office has warned British tourists about the dangers of travelling in France.

In pictures: Another night of clashes between protesters and police

Saturday 1 July 2023 08:11 , Tara Cobham

Thousands more police on streets on Saturday

Saturday 1 July 2023 07:33 , Tara Cobham

France deployed 45,000 police officers and some armoured vehicles on the streets on Saturday as riots rocked French cities for a fourth night over a teenager's fatal shooting by an officer during a traffic stop.

French interior minister Gerald Darmanin ordered a nationwide night-time shutdown of all public buses and trams in response to the riots and added 5,000 police to the streets, increasing the number to 45,000 overall.

ICYMI: Paris shooting: Where are the riots in France and why are they happening?

Saturday 1 July 2023 07:00 , Maroosha Muzaffar

President Emmanuel Macron has urged parents to keep teenagers at home. while his government is considering “all options” to restore order after rioters torched cars and buildings and looted shops across France in a third night of violence over the police killing of a teenager during a traffic stop in a Paris suburb.

There were more than 800 arrests across the country into Friday, with Mr Macron saying a significant proportion of them were you people. Police and firefighters struggled to contain protesters and extinguish numerous blazes through the night that damaged schools, police stations and town halls or other public buildings. There was also looting reported in a number of locations, including central Paris.

Read the full piece by Chris Stevenson here:

Where are the French riots and why are they happening?

Bus carrying Chinese tourists attacked in France

Saturday 1 July 2023 06:26 , Maroosha Muzaffar

China’s state-sponsored Global Times reported today that a bus carrying 41 Chinese tourists was attacked in Marseille, France as unrest continued overnight.

Global Times shared a video also on Twitter which showed a bus carrying Chinese tourists moving through the streets cautiously. The window of the bus was visibly cracked.

Meanwhile, it was reported that the riots were slightly calmer on Friday night throughout France.

Teen’s mother speaks out for the first time since shooting

Saturday 1 July 2023 05:22 , Maroosha Muzaffar

The mother of the teen who was shot at point blank by a police officer in a French suburb has spoken out for the first time.

Nahel M’s mother -- identified as just Mounia --- told France 5 television: “I don’t blame the police, I blame one person: the one who took the life of my son.”

The 38-year-old officer, meanwhile, was detained and charged with voluntary manslaughter on Thursday. The mother claimed that he “saw an Arab face, a little kid, and wanted to take his life”.

‘Time for violence must end and be replaced by a time of mourning and reconstruction'

Saturday 1 July 2023 04:48 , Maroosha Muzaffar

The players of the French football team launched a “call for appeasement, awareness and responsibility” yesterday after days of unrest.

“The time for violence must end and be replaced by a time of mourning, dialogue and reconstruction,” urged Les Bleus in a statement posted on social media.

Les Bleus said they were “shocked by the brutal death of young Nahel” but asked that violence give way to “other peaceful and constructive ways of expressing oneself”.

Emmanuel Macron urges social media to take down ‘most sensitive types of content'

Saturday 1 July 2023 04:40 , Maroosha Muzaffar

French president Emmanuel Macron has urged social media companies to take down “the most sensitive types of content” that had been posted on TikTok and Snapchat.

The president has asked them to supply authorities with the names of people using their services to organise violence, it was reported.

A spokesperson for Snapchat, meanwhile, said it had “zero tolerance” for content that promoted violence and hatred.

Macron accuses protesters of exploiting teenager’s death

Saturday 1 July 2023 04:09 , Maroosha Muzaffar

French president Emmanuel Macron has accused protesters of exploiting the death of a teenager shot by police at point-blank range.

According to local reports, the president stopped short of declaring a state of emergency but said that more officers would be deployed to contain the violence.

Mr Macron also urged parents to keep rioting children at home.

ICYMI: Paris shooting: Where are the riots in France and why are they happening?

Saturday 1 July 2023 00:01 , Eleanor Noyce

President Emmanuel Macron has urged parents to keep teenagers at home. while his government is considering “all options” to restore order after rioters torched cars and buildings and looted shops across France in a third night of violence over the police killing of a teenager during a traffic stop in a Paris suburb.

There were more than 800 arrests across the country into Friday, with Mr Macron saying a significant proportion of them were you people. Police and firefighters struggled to contain protesters and extinguish numerous blazes through the night that damaged schools, police stations and town halls or other public buildings. There was also looting reported in a number of locations, including central Paris.

Chris Stevenson reports:

Where are the French riots and why are they happening?

In pictures: Protesters hold placards in Bordeaux whilst officers stand guard in Lille

Friday 30 June 2023 23:45 , Eleanor Noyce

Paris has now seen three nights of unrest following the killing of a 17-year-old by police officers on 27 June.

The death of the teenager, known only as Nahel, was captured on video and has shocked France, stirring long-simmering tensions between young people and the police in disadvantaged neighbourhoods around the country.

Transport and businesses have been disrupted as a result of the clashes; on Friday (30 June), interior minister Gérald Darmanin asked regional prefects for all bus and tram services to stop from 9pm local time.

Recap: Who is Nahel M? The teen shot dead by police in France

Friday 30 June 2023 23:15 , Eleanor Noyce

Clashes first erupted on Tuesday night in and around the Paris suburb of Nanterre, where a teenager, identified as Nahel M, 17, was shot during a traffic check.

Nahel’s last name has not been released by authorities or his family. On Thursday, his mother called for a silent march in his honour in the square where the teenager was killed.

“I lost a child of 17-year-old, they took my baby,” the mother, who has not been named, said in a TikTok video.

Read more:

Who is Nahel M? The teen shot dead by police in France

Voices: France may be opening the door for the next Trump

Friday 30 June 2023 22:45 , Eleanor Noyce

In 1981, one of the first acts of François Mitterrand, the newly elected Socialist president of France, was to abolish the death penalty. The question France is asking today is: has it come back as state-sanctioned policy?

The video footage of a French police officer shooting a 17-year-old teenager dead at point-blank range through a car window has shocked all of France.

Deputies in the National Assembly held a minute’s silence. The young man’s mother called for a peaceful demonstration, but once again France erupted in anger with 150 arrests last night as police struggled to control the fury of the country’s north African community.

The video footage of a French policeman shooting a 17-year-old dead through a car window has shocked the whole country, writes Denis MacShane:

France may be opening the door for the next Trump | Denis MacShane

Britons warned to ‘avoid’ violence hotspots as riots and looting shake France

Friday 30 June 2023 22:15 , Eleanor Noyce

Britons have been warned against travelling to hotspots of violence in France as riots threatened to escalate out of control.

Newly-updated Foreign Office advice warns holidaymakers to “avoid areas where riots are taking place” as the situation becomes “unpredictable”.

A total shutdown of public bus and tram services was ordered nationwide on Friday night after shops were looted and several city centres were ablaze from protesters setting light to cars and buildings.

President Emmanuel Macron urged parents to keep teenagers at home, saying his government was considering “all options” to restore order.

Jane Dalton and Simon Calder report:

Britons warned to ‘avoid’ violence hotspots as riots shake France

In pictures: Protesters clash with police in Marseille, police stand guard at a shopping centre in Paris

Friday 30 June 2023 21:47 , Eleanor Noyce

Protesters have been pictured clashing with riot police in Marseille, southern France amidst widespread unrest following the fatal shooting of a 17-year-old.

More than 600 people were arrested overnight across France during a third night of unrest over the death of Nahel M, who was shot dead by an officer in Nanterre, about 11km northwest of Paris city centre.

Police officers have also been pictured standing guard in Rosny-sous-Bois, in the eastern suburbs of Paris.

Man dies after falling from building during riots in northern France - authorities

Friday 30 June 2023 21:38 , Eleanor Noyce

A young man died on Friday after falling from the roof of a supermarket in the suburbs of the northern French city of Rouen during overnight riots, local authorities said.

A police source told Reuters on Friday the man had fallen from the roof as the supermarket in the suburb of Petit-Quevilly in the Bruyeres shopping centre, was being looted by rioters.

The public prosecution office earlier told BFM TV that, based on the ongoing investigation, it was not established the store had been subject to a looting attempt.

Reuters could not verify the two accounts. The prosecution office could not immediately be reached for comment.

France’s interior minister said on Friday the coming hours would be decisive as he sent 45,000 police onto the streets following three nights of riots since an officer shot dead a teenager at a traffic stop in a working class suburb of Paris.

Paris police move to clear protesters from central Place de la Concorde

Friday 30 June 2023 21:26 , Eleanor Noyce

Police started clearing protesters from the iconic central Paris square of Place de la Concorde on Friday evening after an impromptu demonstration started amid nationwide unrest following the fatal shooting of a teenager by police.

“Clearing operation is ongoing on Place de la Concorde,” police said in a statement.

‘Systemic, I don’t know what that means’, says CGT Police union figure on racism

Friday 30 June 2023 21:15 , Eleanor Noyce

At the heart of the riots convulsing the racially mixed, working-class neighbourhoods around French cities are long-standing accusations by rights group of systemic racism in the police.

Police unions, and the interior minister with them, say there are only isolated cases of racism and deny it is systemic or widespread.

“Yes, there are racists, nobody denies that,” Anthony Caille of the CGT Police union told Reuters. “But systemic, I don’t know what that means.”

Because France is officially colour-blind and limits the use of ethnic statistics, it is hard to back up with data the widespread resentment among racial minorities that they are over-targeted by police and discriminated against.

In a significant ruling, the Paris Court of Appeal in 2021 found discrimination was behind police identity checks of three high school students - French nationals of Moroccan, Malian and Comorian origin - at a Paris train station in 2017.

“What we see is that it is difficult for magistrates to hand prison time to police officers - France is not an isolated case, in the U.S. and in Nordic countries, there are difficulties to condemn and sanction police officers too,” sociologist Sebastian Roche, editor of the Policing and Society journal, said.

After the Yellow Vest crisis of 2018-2019, which saw months of violent protests and a police clampdown, police doctrine and tactics also came under renewed criticism.

A rise in lethal police shootings over the last few years has been linked to a law reform in 2017, which broadens the circumstances in which an officer can use their firearm.

Coming into force in the aftermath of the 2016 Islamist attack in Nice, the law allows police officers to fire if they think the driver is “likely” to cause harm to people. Critics say that the provision creates a grey zone.

“It is completely vague, and it allows to shoot much more freely,” said Caille of the left-wing CGT police union.

Reuters analysis: Have there been efforts to reform the police in France?

Friday 30 June 2023 20:45 , Eleanor Noyce

Government ministers that have tried to reform the police in France and to give more independence to its watchdog have done so at their peril.

In June 2020, Macron’s former interior minister Christophe Castaner, who hailed from the Socialists, detailed plans to reform the police. These included a ban on the controversial use of chokeholds during arrests, reform of the IGPN police watchdog, as well as a zero-tolerance policy for racism in the police.

After an outcry from police unions, he was replaced by the tough-talking Gerald Darmanin, a former conservative, in a reshuffle a month later.

“Either you support the police or you run into trouble,” said Franck Louvrier, a former communications adviser to ex-President Nicolas Sarkozy when he was interior minister.

“The interior ministry is all about the human factor, the feelings you have for them, because police officers are under attack every day.”

A proposal by Darmanin to reform the police’s investigative branch angered the police this year, prompting several strikes at an uncomfortable time for the government just as the general public demonstrated against changes to pension rules.

Mother’s tragic last words with teenage son shot to death by Paris police sparking days of riots

Friday 30 June 2023 20:17 , Eleanor Noyce

The mother of a teenage boy whose death has sparked furious riots in France has described their last moments together before he was fatally shot in the chest by police.

The 17-year-old, named only as Nahel M and described as a French citizen with Algerian heritage, was shot at near point-blank range on Tuesday as he attempted to drive away from police who had pulled over his Mercedes in the Paris suburb of Nanterre.

His death, footage of which was shared to social media, has prompted three nights of intense riots across France, resulting in nearly 900 arrests.

My colleague Andy Gregory has the full story:

Mother’s tragic last words with son killed by Paris police sparking days of riots

Tour de France organisers ready to adapt amid riots

Friday 30 June 2023 19:47 , Eleanor Noyce

Tour de France organisers are ready to adjust to any situation amid the riots that have erupted in the country following the fatal shooting of a teenager by police, race director Christian Prudhomme said on Friday.

“We are in constant liaison with the State services and we are following the situation and how it has been evolving,” Prudhomme told reporters.

Law enforcement officers are designated to ensure security at the end of every stage and questions arose as to whether they could be pulled out of the race to be redeployed to anti-rioting duties.

“Depending on what happens we will adapt if needed,” said Prudhomme.

The Tour starts on Saturday from Bilbao and will enter France on Monday with a finish in Bayonne and a start from Dax for the fourth stage on Tuesday.

France to deploy 45,000 police to tackle riots on Friday night - Darmanin

Friday 30 June 2023 19:35 , Eleanor Noyce

45,000 police and gendarme officers will be deployed throughout the country on Friday evening, France‘s Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin told TF1 television as the country braces for more violence on the streets following the killing of a 17-year-old by a police officer earlier this week.

French police, long unreformed, under scrutiny after teenager shooting

Friday 30 June 2023 19:15 , Eleanor Noyce

The killing of a teenager by a police officer this week has revived long-standing questions about the state of the French police and the inability of consecutive governments to reform an institution bound by powerful unions.

In a country beset by regular bouts of unrest that often draw calls for a crackdown on trouble-makers, it can be hard to criticise a force that is under strain and losing staff.

But experts say the authorities can no longer turn a blind eye to accusations by right groups of rampant racism with the force, racial profiling, and questions about recruitment, training and police doctrine.

“What remains constant is a refusal by political powers to act on one of the factors of this explosive cocktail: the police,” historian Cedric Mas said on Twitter.

“Riots in the US and Britain in the 60s and 80s have led to deep reforms of the police. In France? Nothing for the past 40 years,” he said.

Many western governments, from Britain in 2011 to the United States with the Black Lives Matter movement born in 2013, have had to deal with race riots against police over the past decades. But officially colour-blind France has long refused to acknowledge any racial factor was at play.

Although France has introduced about 30 pieces of legislation on law and order in the past two decades, none have included an overhaul of police forces since a 1995 reform that gave broad co-management powers to unions, said Olivier Cahn, a law professor at Cergy University.

“From that point on, unions were involved in everything that’s co-managed, including the managing of human resources,” he told Reuters. “The concrete result in following years was unions doing deals with different interior ministers.”

Paris shooting: Where are the riots in France and why are they happening?

Friday 30 June 2023 18:47 , Eleanor Noyce

President Emmanuel Macron has urged parents to keep teenagers at home. while his government is considering “all options” to restore order after rioters torched cars and buildings and looted shops across France in a third night of violence over the police killing of a teenager during a traffic stop in a Paris suburb.

There were more than 800 arrests across the country into Friday. Police and firefighters struggled to contain protesters and extinguish numerous blazes through the night that damaged schools, police stations and town halls or other public buildings. There was also looting reported in a number of locations, including central Paris.

My colleague Chris Stevenson has the full story:

Where are the French riots and why are they happening?

Travellers warned to be aware of disruptions amid France riots

Friday 30 June 2023 18:18 , Eleanor Noyce

The Government has updated its advice for travellers to France amid rioting across the country.

The incidents follow the fatal police shooting of a 17-year-old driver and have resulted in the arrests so far of 875 people.

The interior minister has ordered a complete shutdown of all public bus and tram services across the country to take effect before sunset on Friday.

Millions of British people visit France every year, with the country a popular summer holiday destination too.

Dominic McGrath reports:

Travellers warned to be aware of disruptions amid France riots

Growing concern among British holidaymakers in France or booked to travel over weekend

Friday 30 June 2023 17:55 , Eleanor Noyce

Concern is growing among British holidaymakers who are already in France or planning to travel there over the weekend.

The Independent calculates that around 260,000 British travellers are booked on flights, ferries and trains to France on Saturday and Sunday.

While most of the unrest has taken place well away from tourist areas, closing down public transport in Paris and other big cities at night will cause significant problems for many holidaymakers.

Britain’s biggest budget airline, easyJet, says it will allow passengers who are booked to travel on Saturday or Sunday to switch to a different flight without paying the normal £49 fee.

An easyJet spokesperson said: “Any customers due to fly to France this weekend who would like to change their plans can contact our customer service team for assistance with their options which includes a transfer to an alternative flight and we will waive the change fee.”

Almost all Eurostar trains from London to Paris at the weekend are full, representing around 20,000 travellers.

A spokesperson for Eurostar spokesperson said: “Our services to France are currently running as scheduled and normal ticket conditions apply.

“We will continue to monitor the situation and will provide updates on Eurostar.com and Twitter if this changes.”

As the Foreign Office is not warning against travel, holidaymakers will not be able to claim if they decide not to continue with their trip to France, or to come home early.

Young man dies after jumping out of building during riots - Rouen Prosecution Office

Friday 30 June 2023 17:49 , Eleanor Noyce

A young man has died after jumping out of a building during riots last night, BFM TV reported on Friday, citing the public prosecution office in Rouen, northern France.

The supermarket on the building’s ground floor had been hit by riots.

France riots: Burnt cars pictured lining the streets in Nanterre, wreckages removed in Nantes

Friday 30 June 2023 17:45 , Eleanor Noyce

Violence has flared in the cities of Marseille, Lyon, Pau, Toulouse, Strasbourg and Lille as well as Paris where 17-year-old Nahel M. - of Algerian and Moroccan descent - was shot dead on Tuesday in the working class suburb of Nanterre. His death, caught on video at a traffic stop, has ignited longstanding complaints among poor, racially mixed, urban communities of police violence and racism.

Videos on social media showed urban landscapes ablaze. A tram was set alight in the eastern city of Lyon and 12 buses gutted in a depot in Aubervilliers, northern Paris.

In Nanterre on the capital’s outskirts, protesters torched cars, barricaded streets and hurled projectiles at police following an earlier peaceful vigil.

Looters ransacked shops including an Apple store in the eastern city of Strasbourg, a local official said. A source told Reuters that several Casino supermarkets had been looted.

The energy minister said several staff of power distribution firm Enedis were injured by stones during clashes. The interior ministry said 79 police posts were attacked overnight, as well as 119 public buildings including 34 town halls and 28 schools.

Snapchat monitoring riots in France closely

Friday 30 June 2023 17:14 , Eleanor Noyce

Snapchat has zero tolerance when it comes to content that promotes violence or hatred, a spokesperson told Reuters in a reply to French President Emmanuel Macron’s request to social media platforms to help tame violence amid riots in France.

“We continue to monitor the situation”, the spokesperson said.

The riots erupted this week following the killing of a 17-year-old by a police officer.

Macron earlier said social media helped rioters organise themselves but also contributed to “mimicking” behaviour by some young people, who repeated what they saw online and lost track of reality.

Is it safe to travel to Paris right now?

Friday 30 June 2023 16:54 , Eleanor Noyce

Paris has now seen three nights of unrest following the killing of a 17-year-old by police officers on 27 June.

The death of the teenager, known only as Nahel, was captured on video and has shocked France, stirring long-simmering tensions between young people and the police in disadvantaged neighbourhoods around the country.

But as the French capital is gearing up for its annual influx of summer holidaymakers, is it safe to travel to Paris?

Benjamin Parker reports:

Is it safe to travel to Paris right now?

In pictures: Police officers in riot gear stand guard in Strasbourg, a shopkeeper cleans graffiti from a storefront

Friday 30 June 2023 16:25 , Eleanor Noyce

More than 800 arrests have taken place across France following widespread protests over the police killing of a 17-year-old boy, identified as Nahel, in the Paris suburb of Nanterre.

Police and firefighters struggled to contain protesters and extinguish numerous blazes through the night that damaged schools, police stations and town halls or other public buildings. There was also looting reported in a number of locations, including central Paris.

Looters ransacked shops including an Apple store in the eastern French city of Strasbourg, a local official said on Friday.

Pop concert due to take place at Stade De France on Friday called off

Friday 30 June 2023 16:17 , Eleanor Noyce

A pop concert due to take place at the Stade De France on Friday night has been called off due to riots. The news was confirmed by a prefect of the Seine-Saint-Denis Departement, Reuters reports.

France’s national stadium, it is located in the commune of Saint-Denis, north of Paris. It is Europe’s sixth-largest stadium, with a capacity of 80,698.

Canadian-French pop artist Mylène Farmer had been due to perform there on Friday and Saturday night.

“By administrative decision, Mylène Farmer’s concerts at the Stade de France on 30 June and 1 July have been cancelled”, a statement in English on the Stade De France website reads.

“We are working on the modalities which will be communicated to you later. We understand your disappointment, but hope to see you again at the Stade de France very soon.”

UN says shooting a chance to address racism in police

Friday 30 June 2023 16:15 , Eleanor Noyce

The United Nations rights office has emphasised the importance of peaceful assembly, urging French authorities to ensure that use of force by police is legal, proportional and non-discriminatory.

“This is a moment for the country to seriously address the deep issues of racism and racial discrimination in law enforcement,” spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said.

The policeman, who prosecutors said had acknowledged firing a lethal shot at the teenager, was on Thursday placed under formal investigation for voluntary homicide - equivalent to being charged under Anglo-Saxon jurisdictions. He is being held in preventive custody.

His lawyer, Laurent-Franck Lienard, said his client had aimed down towards the driver’s leg but was bumped, causing him to shoot towards his chest. “Obviously (the officer) didn’t want to kill the driver,” Lienard said on BFM TV.

Some Western governments warned citizens to be cautious.

Americans “should avoid mass gatherings and areas of significant police activity”, the U.S. Embassy said in a tweet, while UK authorities warned Britons of possible disruption to transport and local curfews.

The unrest has revived memories of three weeks of nationwide riots in 2005 that forced then-president Jacques Chirac to declare a state of emergency.

That wave of violence erupted in the Paris suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois following the death of two young men who were electrocuted in a power substation as they hid from police.

Looters ransacks Strasbourg stores amid French riots

Friday 30 June 2023 16:00 , Eleanor Noyce

Looters ransacked shops including an Apple store in the eastern French city of Strasbourg amid country-wide riots on Friday, a local official said.

Paris court reverses French police ban on Iranian opposition rally

Friday 30 June 2023 15:55 , Eleanor Noyce

A Paris court on Friday reversed a decision by the French capital’s police to ban an upcoming Iranian opposition rally over the risk of an attack, saying it interfered with the basic freedom to protest.

The ruling by the Paris administrative tribunal comes as police are fully stretched amid the worst riots seen across cities in France since 2005 sparked by the fatal police shooting of a teenager.

The Paris-based National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), political arm of the People’s Mujahideen Organisation of Iran (PMOI), has held frequent rallies in the French capital over the years. They have attracted thousands of followers and are often attended by high profile former U.S., European and Arab officials critical of the Islamic Republic.

In a letter signed by Paris police chief on 15 June and seen by Reuters said it could not allow the protest because of security concerns.

That ban came just days after the release of an Iranian diplomat convicted of masterminding a plot to bomb the group in 2018 and as Western powers seek to defuse tensions with Iran.

The court said the ban “excessively violated the fundamental freedom to demonstrate”. The rally will now take place near the French Foreign Ministry in central Paris on Saturday, for a limited period and be confined to one area. The protesters will also provide extra private security, the court said.

In a statement the NCRI welcomed the ruling, which it said denied Iran “the opportunity to exploit ‘security concerns’ under false pretences in order to suppress democracy and freedom of expression.”

France to halt bus, tram traffic on Friday night following riots - French interior minister

Friday 30 June 2023 15:23 , Eleanor Noyce

France‘s interior minister Gerald Darmanin has asked prefects in the whole country to exceptionally halt public transport with busses and trams from 2100 local time, his office confirmed when asked by Reuters following local media reports.

The move is part of a bundle of measures to ease tensions after heavy riots erupted throughout the country following the killing of a 17-year-old by a police officer.

Bus and tram traffic halted across France on Friday night

Friday 30 June 2023 15:16 , Eleanor Noyce

The French interior minister has asked local prefects across the whole of France to halt all bus and tram traffic on Friday night following widespread riots, Reuters reports.

More follows...

Fear of no end to riots across France after police killing of teen: ‘It’s getting worse and worse’

Friday 30 June 2023 15:00 , Eleanor Noyce

France is considering “all options” to restore order after rioters torched cars and buildings and looted shops across the country, in a third night of violent anger over the police killing of a teenager during a traffic stop in a Paris suburb.

President Emmanuel Macron, who has so far resisted growing calls to declare a state of emergency, arrived in Paris from Brussels after leaving a European Union summit early to attend a second cabinet crisis meeting in two days.

Anthony Cuthbertson reports from Nanterre, the Paris suburb where 17-year-old Nahel was shot dead:

Fear of no end to riots in France after police killing of teen: ‘It’s getting worse’

French city of Marseille bans protests this Friday after latest riots in France

Friday 30 June 2023 14:43 , Eleanor Noyce

Marseille, France‘s second-largest city, has decided to ban public demonstrations this Friday after last night’s latest riots in France, said the local authorities for the city.

All public transport in Marseille will also stop as from 7pm local time this Friday.

Recap: Where are the riots in France and why are they happening?

Friday 30 June 2023 14:30 , Matt Mathers

The 17-year-old, identified as Nahel, was driving a car on Tuesday morning when he was pulled over for breaking traffic rules, prosecutors said. The teenager was too young to hold a full driving license in France.

Police initially reported that one officer had shot at the teenager because he was driving his car towards him. But this version of events was quickly contradicted by a video circulating on social media.

On Thursday, The Nanterre prosecutor said that witness statements, CCTV video footage, amateur video footage, and statements from police offers were being used to piece together the timeline of events from Tuesday morning.

Chris Stevenson reports:

Where are the French riots and why are they happening?

Macron: Keep teenagers at home tonight, president urges parents

Friday 30 June 2023 14:02 , Matt Mathers

Emmanuel Macron is urging parents to keep teenagers at home to quell rioting spreading across France and says social media is fuelling copycat violence.

After a second crisis meeting with senior ministers, the French President said on Friday that social networks are playing a "considerable role" in the spreading unrest triggered by the deadly police shooting of a 17-year-old boy.

He said he wants social media such as Snapchat and TikTok to remove sensitive content and that violence is being organised online.

Of young rioters, he said: "We sometimes have the feeling that some of them are living in the streets the video games that have intoxicated them."

In pictures: Clean-up operation after third night of violence

Friday 30 June 2023 13:35 , Matt Mathers

Britons travelling to France warned of travel disruption

Friday 30 June 2023 12:48 , Matt Mathers

The UK has warned residents travelling to France they could face “disruption” to road and public transport journeys following a third night of violent protests over the police shooting of a teenager.

“Since 27 June, riots have taken place across France. Many have turned violent. Shops, public buildings and parked cars have been targeted. There may be disruptions to road travel and local transport provision may be reduced, “ the Foreign Office said in updated guidance.

“Some local authorities may impose curfews. Locations and timing of riots are unpredictable. You should monitor the media, avoid areas where riots are taking place, check the latest advice with operators when travelling and follow the advice of the authorities.”

Tram set alight during unrest

Friday 30 June 2023 12:45 , Matt Mathers

Overnight videos on social media showed urban landscapes ablaze across the country. A tram was set alight in the eastern city of Lyon and 12 buses gutted in a depot in Aubervilliers, northern Paris.

The facade of the adjacent Aubervilliers aquatic centre, where training will take place for the Olympics in 2024, was slightly damaged in the fire, SOLIDEO - the company in charge of the Games’ infrastructures - told Reuters.

In Nanterre on the city’s outskirts, protesters torched cars, barricaded streets and hurled projectiles at police following an earlier peaceful vigil held to pay tribute to the dead boy.

In the Chatelet Les Halles shopping mall in central Paris, a Nike shoe store was broken into, and several people were arrested after store windows were smashed along the adjacent Rue de Rivoli shopping street, Paris police said.

Transport Minister Clement Beaune told RMC radio early on Friday he did not rule out shutting down the capital’s public transport network.

A source told Reuters that several Casino supermarkets were looted across the country.

Government to examine ‘all options’ to quell unrest

Friday 30 June 2023 12:15 , Matt Mathers

France’s government was set to examine "all options" for restoring order on Friday after nationwide unrest escalated overnight into the most destructive rioting since police shot and killed a teenager at a traffic stop.

President Emmanuel Macron was en route to Paris from Brussels after leaving a European Union summit early so he could attend a second cabinet crisis meeting convened in two days.

The government would examine "all options" for restoring order, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said, calling the violence "intolerable and inexcusable" in a tweet.

"The priority is to ensure national unity and the way to do it is to restore order," she later told reporters during a visit to a Paris suburb.

Who is Nahel M? The teen shot dead by police in France

Friday 30 June 2023 11:47 , Matt Mathers

Nahel’s last name has not been released by authorities or his family. His mother has called for a silent march on Thursday in his honour in the square where the teenager was killed.

"I lost a child of 17-year-old, they took my baby," the mother, who has not been named, said in a TikTok video.

"He was still a child, he needed his mother. This morning he gave me a big kiss and told me he loved me. I told him be careful and I loved him."

Alisha Rahaman Sarkar reports:

Who is Nahel M? The teen shot dead by police in France

People in France becoming ‘afraid’ over ‘increasing violence’

Friday 30 June 2023 11:28 , Matt Mathers

People in France are becoming “afraid” due to the “increasing violence” on the streets after the police killing of Nahel M.

Amina Kalache, a journalist who lives in the district where the teenager was shot dead, said the unrest got more intense on Thursday night.

More comments from Ms Kalache below:

UN says France fatal shooting an opportunity to address racism in law enforcement

Friday 30 June 2023 11:14 , Matt Mathers

The United Nations rights office said on Friday it was concerned by the fatal shooting of a teenager by police that triggered unrest across France.

"This is a moment for the country to seriously address the deep issues of racism and racial discrimination in law enforcement," spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said.

"We also emphasize the importance of peaceful assembly. We call on the authorities to ensure use of force by police to address violent elements in demonstrations always respects the principles of legality, necessity, proportionality, non-discrimination, precaution and accountability."

Macron goes to Elton John gig as Paris burns in mass protests

Friday 30 June 2023 10:25 , Matt Mathers

Emmanuel Macron has sparked anger by attending an Elton John concert in Paris as riots raged in France over the police killing of a teenage delivery driver.

Footage showed him tapping his foot along to the 76-year-old pianist as he performed hits such as “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting” and “Burn Down the Mission”.

Andy Gregory reports:

Macron goes to Elton John gig as Paris burns in mass protests

Watch: Looted Paris shops in ruins amid riots

Friday 30 June 2023 10:19 , Matt Mathers

A video shows shops in Paris ruined after a third night of violent protests over the police killing of a teenager.

Protesters erected barricades, lit fires and shot fireworks at police in French streets overnight as tensions grew over the deadly police shooting of a 17-year-old.

Overnight protesters lit a fire at the city hall of the suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois and set a bus depot ablaze in Aubervilliers.

Shops were also looted and damaged during the unrest

Clean-up operation underway

Friday 30 June 2023 09:19 , Matt Mathers

The clean-up from yesterday’s riots in Nanterre is underway. It’s the third morning in a row for municipal workers here, with one telling me he expects to be back again tomorrow morning, Anthony Cuthbertson reports from Nanterre.

Dozens of shopfronts are smashed up, with one bank completely gutted by arsonists. Some fires are still smouldering, and one street alone has six burnt‐out cars lined up on one side.

"We closed early yesterday, expecting trouble," says Pascal Mitieus, as he picks broken glass from the shattered windows of his salad shop.

"It was calm when I left but by 4pm it had turned to hell. It’s getting worse and worse. It’s become completely out of control."

Despite the mess it’s remarkably peaceful here this morning. A few feet from a burned out carousel a man is fishing in the lake, which protesters were using yesterday to wash teargas off their face. "I missed all that," he says. "I was sleeping."

Unrest in pictures: Violent protests break out across France

Friday 30 June 2023 08:53 , Matt Mathers

Fireworks explode as policemen stand by during protests in Roubaix, northern France.

Police stand by as material explodes in the Cite Pablo Picasso area of Nanterre, north-west of Paris.

A firefighter puts out a fire during protests in Lille, northern France.

People look at burning tyres blocking a street in Bordeaux, south-western France.

Riot police officers charge at youths during a demonstration in Paris.

Schools, town halls and police stations targeted in protests

Friday 30 June 2023 08:43 , Matt Mathers

Schools, town halls and police stations were targeted by people setting fires, and police used tear gas, water cannons and dispersion grenades against rioters, the spokesperson said.

Interior minister Gerald Darmanin on Friday denounced what he called a night of "rare violence".

His office described the arrests as a sharp increase on previous operations as part of an overall government efforts to be "extremely firm" with rioters.

The government has stopped short of declaring a state of emergency - a measure taken to quell weeks of rioting around France that followed the accidental death of two boys fleeing police in 2005.

Click here to read the full blog on The Independent's website