French authorities have deployed reinforcements to flashpoint cities and had made hundreds of arrests on the fifth night of unrest sparked by the fatal police shooting of a 17-year-old.
French authorities deployed reinforcements to flashpoint cities and had made hundreds of arrests by early Sunday, on the fifth night of unrest sparked by the fatal police shooting of a 17-year-old who was laid to rest the day before.
A total of 719 people had been arrested across France as of 03:00 (01:00 GMT) on Sunday, the interior ministry said, though the level of violence appeared to have declined since rioting first broke out over the death of Nahel M in the Paris suburb of Nanterre on Tuesday.
„A calmer night thanks to the resolute action of the security forces,“ Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin tweeted early on Sunday.
Darmanin had told reporters earlier that 45 000 members of the security forces would be deployed overnight – the same number as the night before.
But extra forces and equipment were sent to Lyon, Grenoble and Marseille, which had previously seen intense rioting.
In Paris and its nearby regions, where around 7 000 officers were out in force, 194 people had been arrested as of 03:00 on Sunday.
In Marseille, police dispersed groups of youths Saturday evening at Canebiere, the main avenue running through the centre of the city, AFP journalists said.
By midnight, the authorities in Lyon and Marseille were reporting fewer incidents than the previous night, with 77 people arrested as of around 01:30 in the two cities.
