French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin announced a new wave of arrests on Friday, after the third night of riots caused by the police killing of a teenager.
“Last night, our police, gendarmes, and firefighters again courageously confronted rare violence. In line with my firm instructions, they made 667 arrests,” Darmanin tweeted early Friday.
The riots began on Tuesday, after video footage showed 17-year-old Nahel being shot by police at a traffic stop in the working-class suburb of Nanterre. Nahel was of Algerian descent.
The killing has sparked anger among those in France who feel there is systemic racism by the police and the judicial system towards ethnic groups such as Arabs and Blacks. The 38-year-old officer behind Nahel’s killing was arrested and is facing voluntary manslaughter charges.
French authorites have deployed tens of thousands of police and gendarmes to maintain security in Paris and other major cities such as Marseille.
Macron to hold emergency talks after unrest
President Emmanuel Macron will be holding crisis talks on Friday following a third night of unrest.
Macron has been attending the European Union leaders summit in Brussels but will be cutting the trip short to chair the emergency meeting at 1:00 p.m. (1100 UTC/GMT)
Macron has condemned the killing of the 17-year-old which sparked the unrest, but has also spoken out against rioting. Other major French leaders, such as Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, have urged calm.
