Türkiye closely monitoring protests in France to protect Turkish citizens

By Esra Taskin

PARIS (AA) - Türkiye is closely monitoring the protests in France over the fatal police shooting of a 17-year-old Algerian boy to ensure the safety of Turkish citizens in the country.

Speaking to Anadolu, Türkiye's Ambassador to France Ali Onaner said: "We are making every effort to ensure that none of our citizens are victims of the incidents or suffer harm from these protests."

Regarding the presence of dual citizenship Turkish individuals among those detained during the protests, Onaner said that local authorities are not obligated to inform them about this matter.

It is possible for Turkish citizens to contact the embassy through their relatives to request support in such a situation, he said.

"We can say that there are no detained Turkish citizens based on the information we currently have."

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

Expressing hope for the situation to calm down, Onaner said: "Additionally, we are closely monitoring to ensure that the businesses of Turkish citizens in France do not suffer any damage from the looting incidents.

"As far as we can follow from social media, we have at least one citizen who may have been affected by a looting incident, and our consulate is making efforts to establish contact with this citizen."

The police officer involved in the killing faces a formal investigation for voluntary homicide and has been placed under preliminary detention.

Protests, which began in Nanterre, have spread to other cities, including Lyon, Toulouse, Lille, and Marseille, with reports of damages caused to public buildings and public transportation vehicles, as well as looting incidents.

He said that the French authorities have been trying to demonstrate a strong hand from the first day.

Onaner said that the protests continued to escalate in the first four days, which was worrying.

The Turkish Embassy issued a travel advisory for Turkish citizens residing in or traveling to France, he added.

He stated that they advised citizens to stay away from the areas where protests are taking place and to follow the announcements made by the embassy or the French authorities.

Police have arrested hundreds since the violent protests erupted, including 72 people on the sixth night of unrest, the daily Le Figaro reported.

More than 202 fires were started on the public ways and 159 vehicles were set on fire, the report added.

*Writing by Muhammed Enes Calli