Macron pleads with parents for help, vows to tackle 'copycat violence'
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France is witnessing a chain of riots and protests sparked by the killing of a teenager on Tuesday, blamed on racism.
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Macron holds a crisis meeting after the third night of riots (AP)
As he faced nightly rioting over a teenager's deadly shooting by an officer during a traffic check, French President Emmanuel Macron announced measures including extra police and encouraged parents to keep kids off the streets on Friday. According to Macron, parents should "take responsibility" and "keep them at home...it's not up to the Republic to take their place."
After hurrying back from an EU summit to head a second crisis meeting in two days, Macron said there had been "unacceptable exploitation of a death of an adolescent" in certain places to excuse the violence.
Nahel, the teenager killed by the police officer, was shot in the chest at point-blank range on Tuesday in the western region of Paris after he was pulled over for allegedly breaking traffic rules in a yellow Mercedes. His mother called for a march on Thursday in tribute to her only child.
Read next: Nahel's death exposes rooted division in France: Report
The French President announced that "additional means" would be mobilized to tackle the protests. According to official numbers he read out as the conference began, an additional 40,000 police officers failed to prevent damage to 492 structures, the burning of 2,000 cars, and the initiation of 3,880 fires nationally.
The number of arrests has now reached roughly 875, and police injuries have reached 249.
Meanwhile, he pledged to collaborate with social media platforms to combat "copycat violence" distributed through sites such as TikTok and Snapchat.
Nahel's mother Mounia told France 5 that she does not blame the police, but rather the one police officer who killed her child.
Mounia elaborated that the officer responsible, who was detained and charged on Thursday "saw an Arab face, a little kid, and wanted to take his life."
On Friday, the RATP transport operator announced that a dozen vehicles were torched and some routes were blocked or damaged.
France's Interior Ministry announced Friday that bus and tram services will be suspended countrywide at 9 pm, and sales of huge fireworks would be prohibited, as part of steps to quell violent demonstrations.
Regional prefects, who are in charge of security throughout the nation, would be urged to prohibit the sale and transportation of fuel cans, acids, and other flammable substances.
Moreover, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said Friday said French police will use armored vehicles to suppress the riots.
"Additional mobile forces" would be deployed along with the vehicles belonging to France's gendarmerie, Borne said, also announcing the cancellation of "large-scale events binding personnel and potentially posing risks to public order."
UN voices concern over deep-seated racism in French Police
On its part, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed concerns on Friday by what it saw as deep-rooted racism in the French police force, as violence in the Parisian suburbs continued into a third night following the deadly shooting of a North African background teen by police.
"We are concerned by the killing of a 17-year-old of North African descent by police in France on Tuesday... This is a moment for the country to seriously address the deep issues of racism and discrimination in law enforcement," Ravina Shamdasani said in a statement.
Shamdasani called on the French authorities to make sure that police only used force to address "violent elements in demonstrations," while always respecting the principles of legality, necessity and proportionality. Any allegations of disproportionate use of force must be swiftly investigated, she said.
