France riots: Burning car used in ram-raid attack on mayor’s home in ‘assassination attempt’

Published

2 years ago

July 3, 2023

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A burning car has been used to attack the home of a mayor during a fifth night of rioting by protesters sparked by the police killing of a teenager in France.

Vincent Jeanbrun, who runs the Paris suburb of L’Hay-les-Roses, claimed the incident was an “assassination attempt” and authorities said they were treating it as attempted murder.

Mr Jeanbrun, who was not at home at the time, said his property was “ram-raided” and set alight while his wife and two children, aged five and seven, were asleep.

His wife broke her leg and one of the youngsters was injured as they fled the building through the back garden. Mr Jeanbrun told France’s prime minister that his wife had had surgery and faced a three-month rehabilitation.

The mayor, who had been at the town hall, claimed the perpetrators started a fire “to torch my house”.

Prosecutors said the vehicle was stopped apparently by a low wall before reaching the veranda of the house, adding that a flame accelerant was found in a bottle in the car.

The town hall was targeted over several nights since the shooting of a 17-year-old boy and has been protected with barbed wire and barricades. But such a personal attack on a mayor’s home is unusual.

In a statement, Mr Jeanbrun wrote: “A milestone was reached in horror and ignominy. My home was attacked and my family was the victim of an assassination attempt. My determination to protect and serve the Republic is greater than ever. I will not back down.”

French prime minister Elisabeth Borne has “condemned” the attack and gave her full support to the mayor and his family.

A spokesperson for the PM said “the culprits will be prosecuted with the greatest firmness” and the government is “at the side of all the mayors”, adding: “These attacks and violence against elected officials are unacceptable.”

No suspects have been arrested over the incident.

President Emmanuel Macron will have a meeting later with Ms Borne, interior minister Gerald Darmanin and justice minister Eric Dupond-Moretti to discuss the protests.

Locals blame government for being too soft on criminals

Few expected violence to shatter the tranquility of L’Hay-les-Roses.

The street itself is now cordoned off by the police. The vehicle used to attack the house, as well as a burnt-out family car, have already been removed. But what lingers is a sense of shock.

We spoke to Gerard and Josie, who have lived in the area for 45 years and said nothing like this had ever happened before.

Josie, articulate and anxious, blamed the government for being too soft on criminals and, like many in France, wondered aloud why so many “10,12 or 13-year-old children” are roaming the streets at night.

“The death of Nahel is not the issue behind attacks like this,” she told us. “It is the excuse.”

Nils came past with his young son in a pram. He’s lived near the mayor’s house for two years, liked the area and said he’d always felt safe here but this morning he was checking the locks and worrying.

He said he was worried and scared. “I have a family at home, just like the mayor,” he said.

Around the town hall, there are now barricades and razor wire, but the shock of this attack runs beyond this small town.

Mob violence is indiscriminate and wanton, which is what makes it so ferociously intimidating, but what happened to the Jeanbrun family was something different – targeted, planned and premeditated.

If that is a sign of things to come, France has another headache to deal with.

Meanwhile, officers in Marseille fired tear gas at protesters as the escalating crisis in France continued.

Sky News footage showed crowds dispersing in the moments after the substance was deployed by officers.

Police in Paris cleared protesters from the Place de la Concorde and increased security at the city’s landmark Champs Elysees avenue after a call on social media to gather there.

Officers later said they arrested 37 people in the French capital after officers confiscated weapons in the area.

Some 2,400 people have been arrested after five nights of violent protests throughout the country following the death of 17-year-old Nahel Merzouk, who was shot by police during a traffic stop in the Paris suburb of Nanterre on Tuesday.

People have taken to the streets over consecutive nights to protest, setting cars alight, throwing stones and fireworks, and ransacking shops.

A funeral for the teenager was held in Nanterre on Saturday afternoon, with family and friends viewing an open coffin before it was taken to a mosque for a ceremony and later burial.

Nahel’s killing ignited long-simmering tensions between police and young people in housing projects who struggle with poverty, unemployment and racial discrimination.

It has resulted in the worst riots France has seen in years and put pressure on Mr Macron, who has blamed social media for fuelling the violence.

Street clashes continue to rage

Early on Saturday firefighters in Nanterre, on the outskirts of Paris, extinguished blazes set by protesters that left the scorched remains of cars strewn across the streets, while in the neighbouring suburb of Colombes protesters overturned bins to use them as makeshift barricades.

On Friday evening looters broke into a gun shop and stole weapons in the Mediterranean port city of Marseille, police said.

Despite Mr Macron’s appeal to parents to keep their children at home, street clashes between young protesters and police raged on, with authorities saying around 2,500 fires have been set and stores were ransacked.

As the number of arrests increased the government suggested the violence was beginning to subside due to tougher security measures.

However, the damage has been widespread from Paris to Marseille and Lyon, and even further away in the French overseas territories, where a 54-year-old died after being hit by a stray bullet in French Guiana.

World

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

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2 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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Maduro says Venezuela ready to defend itself as US considers potential land attack

Published

2 hours ago

December 2, 2025

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Maduro says Venezuela ready to defend itself as US considers potential land attack

Nicolas 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 Donald 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”.

US forces have carried out at least 21 strikes on boats it claims were carrying narcotics to its shores over the last few months, and the White House has accused Mr Maduro of being involved in the drugs trade – a claim he denies.

‘Psychological terrorism’

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.

Concerns have been raised over the legality of the US attacks, which the Pentagon has sought to justify by designating the gangs as foreign terror organisations.

Controversy over US strikes

Tensions remain high over America’s large deployment in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific, which includes its flagship aircraft carrier and thousands of troops.

The US has released videos of boats being blown up but has not provided evidence – such as photos of drugs – to support the smuggling claims.

Controversy also surrounds the first incident, on 2 September, in which 11 people were killed – with a follow-up strike targeting the boat after the first attack left two survivors in the water.

US media reported defence secretary Pete Hegseth gave an order that everyone on board should be killed.

However, there are concerns about the legality of the second strike if the survivors posed no threat.

Mr Hegseth dismissed the reporting as “fake news” and insisted all actions in the region are compliant with US and international law.

“Every trafficker we kill is affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization,” he said on X.

Mr Trump said on Sunday he would not have wanted a second strike and that Mr Hegseth had denied giving such an order.

Ms Leavitt confirmed on Monday that the boat had been hit by a second strike – but denied Mr Hegseth gave the order for the follow-up.

Instead, she said he had authorised US navy vice admiral Frank Bradley to attack, and the admiral acted “well within his authority and the law, directing the engagement to ensure the boat was destroyed and the threat to the US was eliminated”.

As the US weighs its next steps, Mr Trump said on Sunday he had spoken to Mr Maduro by phone and that the conversation went neither “well or badly”.

In recent days, he also stated that Venezuela’s airspace should be considered closed – with the South American nation calling it a “colonial threat” and “illegal, and unjustified aggression”.

World

Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan healthy but isolated in jail, his sister says

Published

2 hours ago

December 2, 2025

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Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan healthy but isolated in jail, his sister says

Imran Khan is suffering from isolation, his sister said, after weeks of not being able to see his family.

Khan has been in jail since his August 2023 arrest after he was handed a three-year jail term for illegally selling state gifts.

Uzma Khanum was the only family member permitted to meet him in Adiala jail, Rawalpindi, where supporters of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party had gathered to protest against conditions of the 73-year-old’s detention.

Ms Khanum said that Khan, a former cricketer, is facing isolation and psychological strain in prison following weeks in which his family said access had been blocked.

“He’s physically well,” said Ms Khanum, one of Khan’s three sisters. “But he’s kept inside all the time, and only goes out for a short while. There’s no contact with anybody.”

The meeting took place under strict supervision, said Ms Khanum, though she declined to provide further details.

PTI says routine prison visits have been blocked for weeks despite court orders, fuelling rumours about his condition and possible prison transfers.

Authorities deny any mistreatment, and say that Khan is receiving all entitlements available to prisoners.

Khan served as prime minister from 2018 to 2022.

He has claimed that the charges against him are politically motivated – and aimed at blocking his political career.

Khan’s wife, Bushra Bibi, is serving time in the same prison over corruption, but they are not allowed to see each other except when they appear in court, his supporters have said.