157 arrested as protests over police killing of teen sweeps France on 6th night

By Nur Asena Erturk

ANKARA (AA) – French police arrested 157 people overnight in nationwide protests over the killing of a 17-year-old teenager by police last week, local media reported on Monday.

Protests have continued to shake France since June 27, when a police officer shot dead Nahel M. during a traffic check in the Paris suburb of Nanterre after he ignored orders to stop.

The officer faces a formal investigation for voluntary homicide and has been placed in preliminary detention.

Protests, which began in Nanterre, spread to other cities the next evening, including Lyon, Toulouse, Lille, and Marseille.

Tensions rose following clashes between police and protesters.

Police have arrested hundreds since the violent protests erupted, including 157 people on the sixth night of unrest, daily Le Figaro reported.

More than 350 fires were started on the public ways and 297 vehicles were set on fire, the report added.

Mayors in France called for a rally on Monday in front of all the town halls across the country to show support for the municipality of L'Hay-les-Roses, where Mayor Vincent Jeanbrun's residence was targeted with a burning vehicle on Saturday to Sunday night.

President Emmanuel Macron will host on Monday the presidents of the Senate and the National Assembly to discuss the latest situation, and he will meet on Tuesday the mayors of towns where acts of violence occurred.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin on Monday announced on Twitter the death of a 24-year-old firefighter who died while working to extinguish the fire in a parking lot in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis.