France stops public transport and deploys 40,000 officers amid fears of third night of rioting
France is set to deploy 40,000 officers on Thursday evening amid fears of a third night of rioting in the capital triggered by the fatal police shooting of a 17-year-old boy.
Bus and tram services are also set to shut down early so they are not “targets for thugs and vandals”, a Paris region official has said.
Meanwhile, a town in the capital’s southwest suburbs announced an overnight curfew to last through the weekend.
Clamart, a town with a population of 54,000, said the curfew would be in place between 9pm to 6am from Thursday night through to Monday.
Buildings and vehicles were set on fire as thousands took to the streets after a video emerged of a teenager, identified only by his first name Nahel, who was shot during a traffic stop on Tuesday in the Parisian suburb of Nanterre.
The killing of 17-year-old Nahel during a traffic check Tuesday, captured on video, shocked the country Pic: AP
The footage has shocked France and stirred up long-simmering tensions between police and young people in housing projects and other disadvantaged neighborhoods.
The police officer who fired the fatal shot will be investigated for voluntary homicide after an initial investigation concluded that “the conditions for the legal use of the weapon were not met”.
Sky News’s Europe correspondent Adam Parsons is on the ground in Nanterre and said: “The first thing that hits you is the lack of uniformed police.
“Whenever we cover a protest in France, you don’t have to go far before you see a police officer in uniform.
“But the message is very clear today. The police are considered the enemy.”
Nahel’s mother received condolences from those gathered to protest against his death.
“It certainly feels quite tense, and many youngsters are threatening to return to the streets tonight, and continue the violence that we have seen across France since the death of Nahel,” Sky’s correspondent said.
Why are people protesting in France – and why is there a history of rioting?
A masked protester throws a stone amid clashes with police
“The march finished at a large square near the Prefecture building in Nanterre, a location loaded with symbolism.
“For one, it’s a legislative hub – and was, inevitably, well protected by the police.
“For another, it was very near to the point where Nahel was shot by a policeman on Tuesday morning. His car careered to a collision on one corner of the square.
French riot police react amid clashes
“Up to this point, the march had been tense and noisy but there had been no violence.
“At the square, confronted by teams of riot police, that all changed. Tear gas and stun grenades came from one side; rocks, flares and fireworks from the other.
Read more: Kylian Mbappe speaks out after teen’s killing by police sparks Paris riots
“Perhaps it was inevitable. It certainly didn’t feel like a surprise that a march clouded with suspicion about the police should end with clouds of tear gas and confrontation. Now we wait to see what happens tonight.”
Ministers appealed for calm as they gathered for a crisis meeting this morning.
French riot police stand in position near a firefighter truck
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said: “The professionals of disorder must go home.
“The state’s response will be extremely firm,” he added.
The minister also confirmed that the number of officers on duty tonight would more than quadruple – from 9,000 to 40,000 – with the number of officers deployed in the Paris region alone more than doubled to 5,000.
Demonstrations spread to other towns on Wednesday night despite an increased police presence.
Burning vehicles are seen in a street amid clashes
Protesters shot fireworks and threw stones at police in Nanterre, who returned with repeated volleys of tear gas.
Schools, police stations, town halls and other public buildings were damaged from Toulouse in the south to Lille in the north as police and firefighters struggled to contain the riots and extinguish several fires.
But a spokesperson for the national police said most of the damage was in the Paris suburbs.
People attend a march in tribute to Nahel
Mr Darmanin said 170 officers had been injured in the unrest but their injuries were not life-threatening.
The local prosecutor in Nanterre, Pascal Prache, said officers tried to stop Nahel because he looked so young and was driving a Mercedes with Polish license plates in a bus lane.
He ran a red light to avoid being stopped but got stuck in a traffic jam.
Protestors with signs reading “Police kill. Justice for Nahel”
Both officers involved said they drew their guns to prevent him from fleeing.
According to Mr Prache, the officer who fired a single shot said he feared he and his colleague or someone else could be hit by the car.
A lawyer for Nahel’s family told the Associated Press they want the police officer prosecuted for murder instead of manslaughter.
Mounia, the mother of Nahel
French President Emmanuel Macron held an emergency meeting on Thursday about the violence.
“These acts are totally unjustifiable,” Mr Macron said at the beginning of the meeting, which aimed at securing hot spots and planning for the coming days “so full peace can return”.
French activists renewed calls to tackle what they see as systemic police abuse, particularly in neighborhoods where many residents struggle with poverty and racial or class discrimination.
World
Tomorrowland: ‘Devastating’ blaze destroys main stage at major festival – two days before it was due to begin
A huge fire has destroyed the main stage of a major festival in Belgium – two days before it was due to begin.
Tomorrowland is a dance music event as big as Glastonbury – and David Guetta was due to perform.
Footage showed flames and thick plumes of black smoke engulfing the stage and spreading to nearby woodland on Wednesday.
The fire gutted the main stage
Fire crews attempt to bring the blaze under control
The annual festival in the town of Boom, north of Brussels, is one of the biggest in Europe and attracts about 400,000 people over two consecutive weekends.
It is famous for its immersive and elaborate designs and attracts big names within dance music – including Guetta, best known for tracks When Love Takes Over and Titanium.
Dutch DJs Martin Garrix and Charlotte de Witte were also due to perform, along with the likes of Swedish House Mafia, Eric Prydz and Alok.
Black smoke could be seen rising into the sky
The festival’s website described the creative elements which went into the elaborate main stage.
The theme, described as Orbyz, was “set in a magical universe made entirely out of ice” and “full of mythical creatures”.
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Organisers said no one was injured in the blaze but confirmed “our beloved main stage has been severely damaged”, adding they were “devastated”.
Spokesperson Debby Wilmsen added: “We received some truly terrible news today. A fire broke out on the Tomorrowland site … and our main stage was essentially destroyed there, which is truly awful.
“That’s a stage that took years to build, with so much love and passion. So I think a lot of people are devastated.”
Spokesperson Debby Wilmsen told reporters ‘a lot of people are devastated’
Despite the fire, Tomorrowland organisers said they were still expecting 38,000 festivalgoers at DreamVille, the event’s campsite.
Israel has shown little respect for international borders since becoming the unrivalled military hegemon of the Middle East. Today that meant an Israeli airstrike on a government building in Damascus.
Israel says its attack on a Syrian defence ministry facility was intended as a warning to the new government: stay out of the part of southern Syria we have occupied or else.
Israel has moved into parts of the south of the country, built military bases and declared a line of control.
Smoke rises from an Israeli airstrike that hit the Syrian Defence Ministry in Damascus. Pic: AP
On Monday, Syrian tanks heading south to try and restore order following an outbreak of factional fighting were attacked by Israeli warplanes.
“The presence of such vehicles in southern Syria could pose a threat to Israel,” stated the Israel Defence Forces.
In reality, Syria’s ageing tanks pose minimal threat to Israel’s state-of-the art military.
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Syrian presenter interrupted by Israeli airstrike
The Syrian armour was attacked as it entered the area around Sweida in the Druze heartland of southern Syria following factional fighting there.
The flare-up reportedly began with clashes between Bedouin and Druze groups that ended in scores killed.
The background to the escalation is complicated.
At least three Druze militia groups are divided in their loyalties to different religious leaders and differ over how they should respond to calls to assimilate into the new post-revolutionary Syria.
Druze from Syria and Israel protest on the Israeli-Syrian border.
Pic: AP
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Israel is becoming more and more involved in Syria’s internecine war and says it will remain there indefinitely “to protect our communities and thwart any threat”.
Its critics say Israel is operating a policy of divide and rule in Syria, weakening the fledgling government and creating a buffer zone to protect the border with the Golan Heights – originally Syrian territory that it has occupied and annexed for almost half a century.
Since the fall of the Assad regime, Israel has used airstrikes to destroy of much of Syria’s military capability weakening its ability to impose control on outlying regions. This makes it more not less likely Israel will have a volatile unstable state on its northern border.
Syrian security forces walk along a street in the southern Druze city of Sweida. Pic: Reuters
America and European powers have chosen to normalise relations with the new government in Damascus and lift sanctions.
In contrast Israel has occupied its territory, bombed its military and today hit one of its government buildings in the capital with an airstrike.
Since its crushing military campaigns against Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran, Israel has emerged as the unchallenged military power of the region.
There is however a limit to what blunt force can achieve alone. It requires diplomacy to achieve lasting gains and Israel’s repeated assaults on multiple neighbours combined with its relentless campaign in Gaza are winning it few friends in the region.
Israeli airstrikes have targeted the Syrian military headquarters in Damascus amid renewed clashes in the country.
The gate of the Ministry of Defence in the Syrian capital was targeted by two warning missiles from an Israeli reconnaissance aircraft.
State-owned Elekhbariya TV said the Israeli strike had wounded two civilians, the Reuters news agency reported.
Smoke rises from Syria’s defence ministry building in Damascus. Pic: Reuters
It came as Israeli airstrikes targeted security and army vehicles in the southern city of Sweida, where the Druze faith is one of the major religious groups – marking the third consecutive day Israel has struck Syrian forces.
The Israeli military confirmed it had “struck the entrance gate” in Damascus – and that it would be monitoring “actions being taken against Druze civilians in southern Syria”.
The Israeli airstrike targeted Syria’s military headquarters. Pic: AP
Why Israel is getting involved in Syria’s internal fighting
Israel has shown little respect for international borders since becoming the unrivalled military hegemon of the Middle East. Today that meant an Israeli airstrike on a government building in Damascus.
Israel says its attack on a Syrian defence ministry facility was intended as a warning to the new government: stay out of the part of southern Syria we have occupied or else.
Israel has moved into parts of the south of the country, built military bases and declared a line of control.
On Monday, Syrian tanks heading south to try and restore order following an outbreak of factional fighting were attacked by Israeli warplanes.
“The presence of such vehicles in southern Syria could pose a threat to Israel,” stated the Israel Defence Forces.
In reality, Syria’s ageing tanks pose minimal threat to Israel’s state-of-the art military.
Local media said Sweida and nearby villages were coming under heavy artillery and mortar fire on Wednesday, according to Reuters.
The clashes marked the collapse of a ceasefire between Syrian government forces and Druze armed groups, with Israel also warning it would increase its involvement.
Syria said its forces had responded to being fired upon. Pic: Reuters
Israel said it was acting to protect the Druze groups through its attacks on convoys of Syrian forces.
Syria blamed militias in Sweida for violating a ceasefire agreement which had only been reached on Tuesday.
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A statement from its defence ministry said: “Military forces continue to respond to the source of fire inside the city of Sweida, while adhering to rules of engagement to protect residents, prevent harm, and ensure the safe return of those who left the city back to their homes.”
Israel’s defence minister Israel Katz said the military will continue to strike Syrian forces until they withdraw and should “leave Druze alone”, according to local reports.
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