Two French police officers injured in shooting during night unrest
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Two French police officers were shot during the ongoing unrest in France.
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Police officers patrol in front of the Arc de Triomphe on the Champs Elysees in Paris, Saturday, July 1, 2023 (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Two French police officers were shot non-fatally overnight to Sunday during unrest in Paris and other French cities following the shooting of a teenager by a police officer earlier this week, according to French network BFMTV.
The officers were shot in the 13th arrondissement of Paris at about 2 am (00:00 GMT), according to the broadcaster. The police officers' injuries were minor due to the bulletproof vests they wore. According to the broadcaster, an investigation into the attempted assassination of state officials has begun.
In the French city of Lyon on Friday night, seven police officers were shot.
Unrest has gripped France since Tuesday when a 17-year-old boy was shot dead by a police officer during a traffic stop in Nanterre, a Paris suburb. The officer who shot Nahel M. was arrested on suspicion of willful manslaughter, but this did not deter the demonstrators.
Riots and looting have erupted in several cities in France, leading authorities to impose partial curfews and restrictions on public transportation. The French Interior Ministry has been reporting police detentions and injuries on a daily basis.
Earlier today, the French Interior Ministry confirmed in a Twitter post that 719 people are detained overnight and 45 police officers have been injured amid protests taking over the country.
The mayor of L'Hay-les-Roses commune in southern Paris, Vincent Jeanbrun, stated that his house was attacked by unidentified assailants who tried to ram a car into the house and set the building on fire, leaving his family injured. "This night, … my house was attacked and my family was a victim of the assassination attempt," Jeanbrun tweeted.
This update follows a chaotic week in France after police shot 17-year-old Nahel M. in the chest at point-blank range on Tuesday in the western region of Paris after he was pulled over for breaking traffic rules in a yellow Mercedes. His mother called for a march on Thursday in tribute to her only child.
The protests also left public property damaged: 31 police departments, 16 offices of the municipal police, and 11 gendarmerie barracks.
