France sees 3rd night of protests over police shooting of teenager

By Nur Asena Erturk

ANKARA (AA) – More than 600 people were arrested across France on Thursday as protests over the fatal police shooting of a 17-year-old continued for a third night.

Clashes between protesters and police continued in many cities including Paris, Bordeaux, Lyon, Roubaix, Marseille and Lille.

The protesters set fire to various buildings and vandalized public property, and a number of suburbs and towns in the Parisian region also imposed a curfew.

All the regions in France were affected and videos on social media showed protesters plundering restaurants and shops.

Public buildings including schools were also targeted, and at least dozen of public buses were set on fire and burnt in the Parisian region.

Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne in a tweet on Friday described the acts of violence as "intolerable and inexcusable."

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin tweeted that police arrested 667 people, including 307 in the Parisian region. As many as 249 police officers were also injured during the clashes.

President Emmanuel Macron will hold an inter-ministerial crisis meeting in the afternoon as the government struggles to restore law and order.

The victim, identified only as Nahel M., was shot dead by police on Tuesday in the Paris suburb of Nanterre after he broke traffic laws and failed to stop, according to prosecutors.

The prosecutors say the officer who killed the teenager has been charged with voluntary homicide and placed in pre-trial detention.​​​​​​​