The riot that started after the killing of a 17-year-old boy by the police in France escalated on the third night. Municipalities, public transportation vehicles, shops, cars and schools were set on fire and at least 667 people were detained.
A 17-year-old Algerian boy, who was stopped by the police in France for violating traffic rules, was shot dead in the chest on Tuesday. After the circulation of images through social networks, protests began to rage in several places.
While the police officer who killed the Algerian teenager was detained, the public prosecutor's office demanded his arrest, saying that the legal conditions for using a gun were not met. The police officer asked forgiveness from the teenager's family.
667 detained in one night
Violent protests continued throughout the third night. According to the Ministry of Interior, 40,000 security forces have been mobilized across the country. 5 thousand of them have been deployed to Paris.
According to the ministry, 667 people were detained, 307 of them in the Paris region overnight from Thursday to Friday. The ministry also revealed that 249 police officers and gendarmes were injured.
Protestors burn buses, municipalities, schools, stores
Cars were burned, municipalities, kindergartens and schools were targeted in the cities of Lyon, Grenoble, Saint-Étienne and Annecy. Kindergartens and police stations were also set on fire.
It is reported that journalists were also targeted during the protests. Le Figaro reported that two of its journalists were attacked.
A photographer for Liberation newspaper and two other journalists were targeted by protesters.
In the suburb of Aubervilliers in the Paris region, 11 public transport buses were burned down.
Fires at 1569 points in Paris
The Paris Police Department unveiled that fire broke out at 1569 points in the city centre during the night.
Looting
Furthermore, images circulated on the social media show that many stores and banks were burned and looted. The fires in some places also posed a threat to the residents. Residents of two buildings were relocated to a gym as a shopping mall burned down in the Seine-et-Marne area. It is also reported that a weapons depot was looted in the Paris suburb of Ivry. Looting took place in many stores in central Paris.
Protests spread to Belgium
The revolt in France has spread to Belgium. Young people took to the streets in many communes of Brussels on Thursday night following the calls made on the social media. Tensions escalated between the police and protestors. According to the Brussels Police Department, a total of 64 people were detained.
