France riots: 45,000 police deployed to restore order

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Hotels and restaurants in France are facing cancellations while some have also suffered damage in the unrest, said Thierry Marx, president of the main association for hotel and catering industry employers.

"Our hotel members have suffered a wave of cancellations of reservations in all the territories affected by the damage and clashes."

The French retail federation (FCD) also called for reinforced police security around stores.

The riots "gave rise to real scenes of looting," said the federation's managing director Jacques Creyssel.

"More than a hundred medium and large food or non-food stores vandalized, looted or even burned," he noted. 

These incidents "are extremely serious and have an extremely heavy cost," Creyssel said.

In Nanterre, where the shooting occurred Tuesday, police arrested nine people for "possessing Molotov cocktails and jerry cans of fuel."

Firefighters in the Parisian suburb extinguished the blazes set by protesters that left scorched remains of cars strewn across the streets.

Overall the situation was calmer in Paris overnight, according to local media.

The most violent incidents were reported  in the cities of Lyon and Marseille.

French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said  471 people had been arrested overnight.

He was visiting security forces deployed in Mantes-la-Jolie outside Paris early Saturday morning. 

Darmanin said the violence was of "much less intensity," and there were "extremely calm departments."

Videos posted on social media showed an explosion rocking Marseille's old port area.

Authorities said they were investigating the cause but did not believe there were any casualties.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said reinforcements were deployed in the port city.

It followed an earlier call by Mayor Benoit Payan, who said the "violence is unacceptable."

Marseille mayor Benoit Payan called for troop reinforcements saying the "scenes of looting and violence are unacceptable."

His city was initially spared the violence but was experiencing its second night of upheaval on Friday night.

Youths threw projectiles, set fires, and looted shops, police said.

They made 80 arrests, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said.

French and Paris St-Germain football star Kylian Mbappe called for an end to the violence. 

In a long post on Twitter, he expressed condolences to Nahel's family and said the circumstance of the teenager's death can't be ignored. 

But the World Cup star also pointed out that rioters were destroying their neighborhoods in a wave of "self-destruction" that he said won't solve the issue. 

"There are other peaceful and constructive ways to express yourself. That is where we should focus our energy and our thoughts," he wrote. 

"The time of violence must end to give way to that of mourning, dialogue and reconstruction."

Police in France's second city, Marseille, said rioters had looted a gun store in the city center and taken away some hunting rifles but had not been able to steal any ammunition. 

One person had been arrested in possession of a firearm thought to hail from the store, police said. 

The building was now under police guard. 

Meanwhile, police for the broader Bouches du Rhone region including Marseille issued a warning to the public on Twitter about renewed violence on Friday evening. 

"Numerous violent groups are still present in the city center of Marseille," police wrote. "They are regularly being dispersed by the effective [local police officers]. 42 arrests." 

They advised members of the public, "Leave the sector and let the police work." 

Police started clearing protesters from the iconic Place de la Concorde in Paris on Friday evening after an impromptu demonstration.

"Clearing operation is ongoing on Place de la Concorde," police said in a statement.

Place de la Concorde is the largest square in the French capital.

Anne-Sophie Simpere, an author and former researcher at Amnesty International, told DW that the violence in France will repeat itself unless long-term measures are taken.

"Considering the unrest and the damage, including the damage to public property, you can understand why [the government is] deploying forces," she said. "However, I think they have to address also the deep, root cause of the anger of these youth." 

If the government focuses only on easing the current situation, "without taking long-term measures, I can bet that in a few years, it will start again," Simpere said, adding that systemic racism in the police force was a problem.

"But the problem is that to find a solution you have to admit that there is a problem."

The French government on Friday rejected accusations by the UN of racism among its police.

"Any accusation of racism or systemic discrimination in the police force in France is totally unfounded," the Foreign Ministry said.

France's interior minister, Gerald Darmanin, says 45,000 police and gendarme officers will be deployed across the country on Friday evening.

The announcement came as authorities braced for a fourth night of violence.

Some 40,000 police were mobilized the previous evening to deal with unrest in the wake of the killing of 17-year-old Nahel in the Paris suburb of Nanterre.

The French Interior Ministry says it has asked all local authorities to shut down public bus and tram services before sunset in a bid to restore order.

The measure would apply nationwide from 9 p.m. (1900 GMT).

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin issued the order after attending a crisis meeting Friday led by French President Emmanuel Macron.

"The next hours will be decisive and I know I can count on your flawless efforts," Darmanin wrote to police officers and firefighters working to quell the unrest that has defined the past three nights.

The Paris region had already announced plans to curb public transport services to protect transport workers and passengers from the violence.

Darmanin also ordered a ban on the sale and carrying of fireworks. The ministry said it was also banning the sale of canisters of gasoline, acids and other chemicals and flammable liquids.

The fatal shooting of 17-year-old Nahel is indicative of a "problem of systemic racism in the French police," says French journalist and analyst Rokhaya Diallo.

In an interview with DW, Diallo said the death served as a reminder of "how common it is for a person of color in France to be brutalized by the police."

"That is not the problem of one single individual, but something that is deeper."

She called for anti-racist policies and legislation to address what she described as "deep problems" within the police force.

Diallo argued that the laws currently in place were enabling police personnel to exercise violence rather than curtailing their actions. She referred to a particular law, passed in 2017, that expanded the use of firearms by police to ensure self defense.

"In five years, the number of people shot while driving was multiplied by five," she said. "So it hasn't changed for the best, but for the worst."

Diallo said she expected the anger on the streets to continue "until the principle of equality is actually applied to everyone in France."

French President Emmanuel Macron criticized social media and video games after convening a crisis meeting with ministers on the unrest. 

The French president said social media was playing a "considerable role" in fomenting the unrest. Macron said he wants platforms such as Snapchat and TikTok to delete sensitive content.

Macron urged parents to keep young rioters off the streets, while noting a third of the 875 individuals arrested overnight were "young, or very young." 

"It's the responsibility of parents to keep them at home," Macron said about young rioters. "It's not the state's job to act in their place." 

Macron said "additional means" would be mobilized by the government, while condemning the "unacceptable exploitation of a death of an adolescent."

The French president did not declare a state of the emergency to tackle the unrest.

The British government has warned its citizens about travel to France due to the riots.

"Since 27 June, riots have taken place across France. Many have turned violent. Shops, public buildings and parked cars have been targeted," the UK said. "There may be disruptions to road travel and local transport provision may be reduced. Some local authorities may impose curfews."

The UK advised its citizens to "monitor the media" and avoid areas where unrest is taking place.

France is a common destination for British holidaymakers, with regions like the south especially popular in summer.