At least 150 people have been arrested in France amid violent nationwide protests that erupted over the fatal shooting of a 17-year-old driver by the police at a traffic stop, authorities said on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Taking to Twitter on Thursday, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said that \u201ctown halls, schools and police stations were set on fire or attacked\u201d during a second straight night of \u201cintolerable violence” on Wednesday, reports CNN.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, Nahel M was shot at point-blank range as he refused a traffic stop and drove away.<\/p>\n
Videos circulating on social media showed protesters setting cars ablaze and ransacking shops on Wednesday night.<\/p>\n
In Nanterre, the suburb from where Nahel came from, the police were forced to partially withdraw, the BBC quoted French newspaper Le Monde as saying.<\/p>\n
In Paris, the demonstrators targeted police stations with fireworks despite the presence of 2,000 additional security personnel.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday night, 24 police officers were injured and 40 cars were set ablaze in the capital city.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, in the northern city of Lille, clashes broke out between the protesters and police.<\/p>\n
Also on Wednesday, about 300 people gathered in the town of Renne to pay tribute to the teenager were dispersed by police, reports the BBC.<\/p>\n
The officer who allegedly shot the teenager was taken into custody on Tuesday and will undergo questioning by prosecutors, Nanterre prosecutor\u2019s office told CNN.<\/p>\n
On Thursday morning, President Emmanuel Macron chaired a meeting of the interministerial crisis unit over the incident and subsequent protests, according to the Interior Ministry.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have seen scenes of violences against the police stations but also schools, city halls, therefore against institutions and against the republic,\u201d Macron told reporters before the meeting.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese actions are completely unjustifiable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Macron’s earlier reaction to the shooting, which he termed “unforgivable”, drew criticisms from police unions, who accused him of rushing to judge the officers involved.<\/p>\n
The Alliance Police union called for them to be presumed innocent until found guilty, while the rival Unite SGP Police also spoke of political interventions that encouraged “anti-cop hatred”.<\/p>\n
Darmanin said he would be taking legal action against another group, France Police, after it published what he called an “unacceptable and abject” tweet seeking to justify the teenager’s killing.<\/p>\n
The officer accused of killing Nahel, who said he had fired because he felt his life was in danger, is in custody on charges of voluntary manslaughter, reports the BBC.<\/p>\n
Nahel is the second person this year in France to have been killed in a police shooting during a traffic stop.<\/p>\n
Last year, a record 13 people died in this way.<\/p>\n