The unrest exposed the severe racial tensions in modern France and increased scrutiny on the police
President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday canceled an official trip to Germany after a fourth straight night of rioting and looting throughout France in defiance of a massive police deployment. Hundreds turned out for the burial of the 17-year-old whose killing by police triggered the unrest.
France’s Interior Ministry announced that in the latest night of violence, 1,311 people had been arrested around the country, where 45,000 police officers fanned out in a so-far unsuccessful bid to restore order. In the violence sparked by the teen’s death on Tuesday, some 2,400 persons have been arrested overall.
The protesters and rioters turned out on the streets of cities and towns, clashing with police, despite Macron’s appeal to parents to keep their children at home. About 2,500 fires were set and stores were ransacked, according to authorities.
The protests over the death of teenager Nahel M., who was of Algerian origin, have again exposed the severe racial tensions in modern France and increased scrutiny on the police who have long been accused of singling out minorities.
The crisis is a hugely unwelcome development for Macron, who was looking forward to pressing on with his second mandate after seeing off protests that erupted in January over raising the pensions age.
The German presidency announced that Macron spoke by telephone with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier "and informed him of the situation in his country" as he requested the visit scheduled to begin Sunday be postponed.