Police officers stroll as they attempt to disperse protesters with tear gasoline throughout an illustration in opposition to police in Marseille, southern France on July 1.

Clement Mahoudeau /AFP by way of Getty Images

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Clement Mahoudeau /AFP by way of Getty Images

Police officers stroll as they attempt to disperse protesters with tear gasoline throughout an illustration in opposition to police in Marseille, southern France on July 1.

Clement Mahoudeau /AFP by way of Getty Images

Police in France have arrested greater than 700 protesters over the course of a fifth consecutive evening of violence throughout a number of main cities, together with its two largest, the capital Paris and the port metropolis of Marseille.

The clashes between tens of 1000’s of law enforcement officials and largely younger males out on the streets occurred in metropolis facilities, in addition to suburbs and small cities, in response to the demise of Nahel M., a 17-year-old teenager who was fatally shot by a police officer Tuesday after being stopped for a site visitors violation.

Large teams engaged in working battles with closely armed riot police sporting protecting clothes — cat and mouse-like encounters involving provocation and response that continued into the early hours of Sunday in a few of France’s most iconic areas, just like the outdated port of Marseille.

Tourists in a number of components of France watched as protesters — some as younger as 14 — clashed with regulation enforcement.

President Emmanuel Macron had swiftly condemned the demise of the teenage driver of Algerian descent, identified solely by his first title, as “inexplicable,” however the French chief has additionally urged mother and father to take duty for youngsters who’ve been taking part in conflagrations up and down the nation, typically with out the data of their members of the family.

“No justice, no peace,” one younger man screamed into an NPR reporter’s microphone, as he sprinted away from helmeted police in Marseille who’re among the many 45,000 officers deployed into public locations by authorities. Despite the tons of arrested, officers mentioned rioting had been considerably calmer than on Friday evening.

In cities like Marseille, commanders used vans to dam streets and discourage massive congregations of offended demonstrators, using tear gasoline to disperse bigger teams whereas helicopters hovered overhead monitoring crowd actions.

Police violence and perceived discrimination alongside ethnic, racial and socio-economic traces have lengthy angered minority communities in France, and although greater than a decade has handed since riots of this magnitude final occurred, the ferocity of the response to {the teenager}’s killing appears to have taken political authorities abruptly.

In one Parisian suburb, L’Hay-les-Roses, prosecutors launched an investigation into tried homicide after the native mayor’s dwelling was rammed by a automobile that was subsequently set on hearth, injuring the spouse and one baby of mayor Vincent Jeanbrun.

He mentioned the personally-targeted assault introduced a brand new stage of “horror and ignominy” within the present outbreak of civil unrest, whereas city halls, colleges, police buildings and tons of of shops have additionally been broken by hearth or acts of vandalism over the previous few days.

Eleanor Beardsley contributed reporting from Marseille