France riots: Looters break into gun shop as hundreds arrested on fourth night of violence

Published

2 years ago

July 1, 2023

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Looters broke into a gun shop in Marseille and hundreds of arrests were made across France as riots continued for a fourth night.

Violent protests spread throughout the country after a 17-year-old, named as Nahel M, was shot by police during a traffic stop in the Paris suburb of Nanterre on Tuesday.

In the aftermath, people have taken to the streets on four consecutive nights to protest, setting cars alight, throwing stones and fireworks, and ransacking shops.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin told TF1 television there had already been 471 arrests made so far overnight, with more than 80 in Marseille.

Police said looters broke into a shop selling guns in the city and ran off with several hunting rifles. One person was arrested nearby with one of the weapons, officers said.

Social media images showed an explosion rocking Marseille’s old port area. City authorities said they were investigating the cause but did not believe there were any casualties.

The mayor of the city, Benoit Payan, has called for the national government to send additional troops to the city, describing scenes of unacceptable “pillaging and violence”.

In a message to fire and police forces, interior minister Darmanin said: “The next hours will be decisive and I know I can count on your flawless efforts.”

He added that 45,000 extra police officers, including paramilitary gendarmes, had been deployed across France on Friday – 5,000 more than the previous night and that though the level of violence was “unacceptable” the country was not yet at the point where the government felt it needed to declare a state of emergency.

Clashes were reported in several other cities, including Lyon in the southeast.

There was also looting reported earlier in Strasbourg in broad daylight, including from an Apple store and several supermarkets.

In central Paris, police removed a group of protesters from the Place de la Concorde, while fires were started in other parts of the capital.

French football superstar Kylian Mbappe, who previously described Nahel’s death as an “unacceptable situation”, appealed for calm.

He wrote on Twitter: “Violence solves nothing… There are other peaceful and constructive ways to express yourself. It is in this that our energies and our thoughts must be concentrated.

“The time of violence must end to give way to that of mourning, dialogue and reconstruction.”

Police said 917 arrests were made during clashes overnight on Thursday and into Friday morning.

Officials said the average age of those detained was 17 – with some as young as 13.

Some key locations where the rioting has taken place

Elsewhere across France, a young man has died after he fell from the roof of a supermarket in the city of Rouen during rioting, local authorities said.

A police source claimed the man plunged from the building, in the suburb of Petit-Quevilly in the Bruyeres shopping centre, while it was being looted overnight on Thursday.

President Emmanuel Macron has urged parents to keep teenagers at home to limit potential rioting in the coming days.

He also blamed social media for fuelling copycat violence and said it had played a “significant role in the events of the past few days”.

Mr Macron has also been urged to get a grip on the crisis after going to an Elton John concert on Wednesday, the day after the shooting.

“While France was on fire, Macron was not at the side of his minister of the interior or the police, but he preferred to applaud Elton John,” said Thierry Mariani, an MEP for National Rally.

Youths ‘intoxicated by video games’

Mr Macron said a third of the individuals arrested on Thursday were “young people, sometimes very young”, and that “it’s the parents’ responsibility” to keep their children at home.

“We sometimes have the feeling that some of them are living in the streets [of] the video games that have intoxicated them,” he said of rioters.

On Friday, following a second crisis meeting, Mr Darmanin issued an order to stop buses and tram services at night.

When asked on French TV if the government might declare a state of emergency, the minister said: “Quite simply, we’re not ruling out any hypothesis and we’ll see after tonight what the President of the Republic chooses.”

Foreign Office advice warns of disruption

“Since June 27, riots have taken place across France. Many have turned violent.

Shops, public buildings and parked cars have been targeted.

“There may be disruptions to road travel and local transport provision may be reduced.

Some local authorities may impose curfews.

“Locations and timing of riots are unpredictable.

“You should monitor the media, avoid areas where riots are taking place, check the latest advice with operators when travelling and follow the advice of the authorities.”

Authorities in the Paris region had already announced a transport shutdown to protect staff and passengers. The city’s Metro system will also shut an hour earlier this weekend following a request from local police.

Concerts by Canadian-born French pop star Mylène Farmer – scheduled to have been held at Paris’ Stade de France stadium on Friday and Saturday night – have been cancelled due to the riots, according to an official from the Seine-Saint-Denis district.

Tour de France organisers said they were ready to adapt to any situation when the bicycle race enters the country on Monday after starting in the Spanish city of Bilbao.

On Thursday, 40,000 police officers were deployed across France – nearly four times the number mobilised on Wednesday.

‘He didn’t want to kill him’

Thus far, appeals from the government to de-escalate the situation continue to fall on deaf ears.

In Nanterre, where the police shooting took place, protesters torched cars, barricaded streets and hurled projectiles at police following a vigil.

Armoured police vehicles rammed through the charred remains of cars that had been flipped and set ablaze in the Paris suburb.

Meanwhile, the police officer who shot and killed the teenager asked the family of the boy for forgiveness.

His lawyer Laurent-Franck Lienard told BFMTV: “The first words he pronounced were to say sorry and the last words he said were to say sorry to the family.

“He is devastated, he doesn’t get up in the morning to kill people. He didn’t want to kill him.”

Mr Lienard added that his client’s detention was being used to try to calm rioters.

The teenager’s burial is scheduled for Saturday, according to Nanterre Mayor Patrick Jarry, who said the country needs to “push for changes” in disadvantaged neighbourhoods.

“There’s a feeling of injustice in many residents’ minds, whether it’s about school achievement, getting a job, access to culture, housing and other life issues,” he said.

“I believe we are in that moment when we need to face the urgency [of the situation].”

World

Ukraine war: Putin rejects peace deal after meeting Trump’s team – and telling Europe he’s ready for war

Published

5 hours ago

December 3, 2025

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Ukraine war: Putin rejects peace deal after meeting Trump's team - and telling Europe he's ready for war

Talks between US negotiators and Vladimir Putin about Ukraine were “productive” but there was no breakthrough, according to Russian officials.

Donald Trump sent special envoy Steve Witkoff and his own son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to Tuesday’s summit in Moscow.

They were pictured in Red Square prior to the summit and Mr Witkoff later told a smiling Mr Putin that Moscow was a “magnificent city”.

Shortly before the summit, the Russian president warned his country was ready to fight if Europe wanted a war.

Analysis: Why Putin won’t agree to latest peace plan

Russian foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov and investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev were involved in the talks, which lasted over five fours and ended after midnight.

Both sides agreed not to disclose precise details, but in a one-word social media post, Mr Dmitriev described the meeting as “productive”.

Mr Ushakov called it “rather useful, constructive” and asked whether peace was closer or further, he commented: “Not further, that’s for sure”.

However, he said a compromise hadn’t been reached on the issue of territories and that the Kremlin sees “no resolution to the crisis” without one.

Russia wants the whole of the Donbas region – even the parts it does not hold – but Ukraine has balked at the prospect.

Mr Ushakov said there was “still a lot of work to be done, both in Washington and in Moscow” and that “contacts will continue”.

The meeting took place after an initial 28-point US peace plan was leaked and alarmed European officials, who said it heavily favoured Russia.

An “updated and refined peace framework” was formulated after talks between Europe, the US, and Ukraine in Geneva last month, but Mr Putin has indicated he will not accept it.

Putin: Europe on the side of war

Earlier on Tuesday, Mr Putin said Russia was ready to fight if Europe wanted a war.

The Russian president accused European powers of changing peace proposals for Ukraine with “demands” that Russia considered “absolutely unacceptable”.

Mr Putin said the Europeans were “on the side of war”.

“We’re not planning to go to war with Europe, I’ve said that a hundred times,” he said following an investment forum.

“But if Europe suddenly wants to fight us and starts, we’re ready right now. There can be no doubt about that.”

“If Europe suddenly wants to start a war with us and does, then a situation could very quickly arise in which we have no one to negotiate with,” he added.

Zelenskyy in Dublin

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was in Dublin on Tuesday to meet Ireland’s prime minister and president.

During the trip, Mr Zelenskyy said he was ready to meet Mr Trump again, but it would depend on how successful the Moscow talks were.

He said the chances of ending the war were “better now than ever” but warned there would be “no easy decisions” and there must be “no games behind Ukraine’s back”.

Calling it “one of the most challenging but optimistic moments” since Russia invaded in 2022, he said the US was “taking serious steps to end this war one way or another”.

He admitted “some things still need to be worked out” and said a “decent, dignified peace” was needed.

The Irish government announced €100m (£88m) in non-lethal aid for Ukraine, “generosity” for which Mr Zelenskyy said Ukraine was grateful.

It brings the total in non-lethal military aid provided to Ukraine this year to €200m (£176m).

The funding is part of a new Ireland-Ukraine partnership, which builds on an agreement signed last year.

It includes €25m (£22m) for the restoration and protection of energy infrastructure and a scheme to support training and other efforts as part of Ukraine’s path to EU accession, which Mr Zelenskyy said he hoped to achieve within five years.

World

Why Putin won’t agree to latest Ukraine peace plan

Published

5 hours ago

December 3, 2025

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Why Putin won't agree to latest Ukraine peace plan

The Americans were given the full VIP treatment on their visit to Moscow.

There was a motorcade from the airport, lunch at a Michelin-starred restaurant, and even a stroll around Red Square.

It felt like Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were on more of a tourist trail than the path to peace.

They finally got down to business in the Kremlin more than six hours after arriving in Russia. And by that point, it was already clear that the one thing they had come to Moscow for wasn’t on offer: Russia’s agreement to their latest peace plan.

According to Vladimir Putin, it’s all Europe’s fault. While his guests were having lunch, he was busy accusing Ukraine’s allies of blocking the peace process by imposing demands that are unacceptable to Russia.

The Europeans, of course, would say it’s the other way round.

But where there was hostility to Europe, only hospitality to the Americans – part of Russia’s strategy to distance the US from its NATO allies, and bring them back to Moscow’s side.

Putin thinks he’s winning…

Russia wants to return to the 28-point plan that caved in to its demands. And it believes it has the right to because of what’s happening on the battlefield.

It’s no coincidence that on the eve of the US delegation’s visit to Moscow, Russia announced the apparent capture of Pokrovsk, a key strategic target in the Donetsk region.

It was a message designed to assert Russian dominance, and by extension, reinforce its demands rather than dilute them.

…and believes US-Russian interests are aligned

The other reason I think Vladimir Putin doesn’t feel the need to compromise is because he believes Moscow and Washington want the same thing: closer US-Russia relations, which can only come after the war is over.

It’s easy to see why. Time and again in this process, the US has defaulted to a position that favours Moscow. The way these negotiations are being conducted is merely the latest example.

With Kyiv, the Americans force the Ukrainians to come to them – first in Geneva, then Florida.

As for Moscow, it’s the other way around. Witkoff is happy to make the long overnight journey, and then endure the long wait ahead of any audience with Putin.

It all gives the impression that when it comes to Russia, the US prefers to placate rather than pressure.

According to the Kremlin, both Russia and the US have agreed not to disclose the details of yesterday’s talks in Moscow.

I doubt Volodymyr Zelenskyy is filled with hope.

World

Pope Leo urges Donald Trump not to try to oust Venezuelan president by force

Published

14 hours ago

December 2, 2025

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Pope Leo urges Donald Trump not to try to oust Venezuelan president by force

The Pope has urged Donald Trump not to try to oust Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro using military force.

Leo, the first American pontiff, said it would be better to attempt dialogue or impose economic pressure on Venezuela if Washington wants to pursue change there.

The Trump administration has been weighing options to combat what it has portrayed as Mr Maduro’s role in supplying illegal drugs that have killed Americans.

The socialist Venezuelan president has denied having any links to the illegal drug trade.

Asked during a news conference about President Trump’s threats to remove Mr Maduro by force, the Pope said: “It is better to search for ways of dialogue, or perhaps pressure, including economic pressure.”

He added that Washington should search for other ways to achieve change “if that is what they want to do in the United States”.

The Pope was speaking as he flew home from a visit to Turkey and Lebanon – his first overseas trip in the role.

Mr Maduro has said Venezuelans are ready to defend their country as the US considers a land attack.

The president held a rally in Caracas amid heightened tensions with Mr Trump’s administration, which has been targeting what it says are boats carrying drug smugglers.

Mr Trump met his national security team on Monday evening, having warned last week that land strikes would start “very soon”.

It’s not been confirmed what was discussed at the meeting, but White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters: “There’s many options at the president’s disposal that are on the table – and I’ll let him speak on those.”

US forces have carried out at least 21 strikes on boats it claims were carrying narcotics to its shores over the last few months.

Mr Maduro – widely considered a dictator by the West – said on Monday that Venezuelans are ready “to defend [the country] and lead it to the path of peace”.

“We have lived through 22 weeks of aggression that can only be described as psychological terrorism,” he said.

Venezuela has said the boat attacks, which have killed more than 80 people, amount to murder – and that Mr Trump’s true motivation is to oust Mr Maduro and access its oil.

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