French Unrest: Macron Postpones Germany Visit; Rioting Enters Switzerland | 10 Points

For the fifth consecutive night, France witnessed unrest, with rioters clashing with the police on Sunday.

The protestors targeted a mayor’s home with a burning car, but overall the violence appears to have decreased in intensity as compared to previous nights.

Till now, the police has made at least 719 arrests across the country, news agency Reuters reported.

The violence was triggered after a 17-year-old delivery driver, identified as Nahel, was shot and killed by a police officer Tuesday in the Paris suburb of Nanterre.

The death has unleashed tensions between angry residents setting barricades on fire and police firing tear gas.

Here are the latest updates on the France unrest- 

1. Seven people were arrested from Switzerland after shop windows in the Swiss city of Lausanne were smashed as young people gathered in an “echo” of riots in neighboring France.
2. Rioters on Saturday reportedly set fire to a residential building in France’s Grigny as violence continued.
3. Extra forces and equipment were sent to Lyon, Grenoble and Marseille, which had previously seen intense rioting. The country activated 45,000 police and gendarmes across France Saturday night to quell riots.
4. Protesters rammed a car into the home of the mayor of a town south of Paris, injuring his wife and one of his children, AFP reported quoting the mayor on Sunday.
5. After midnight on Saturday, a small crowd gathered on the Champs-Elysees for a protest over Nahel’s death and police violence but met hundreds of officers with batons and shields guarding the iconic avenue and its Cartier and Dior boutiques.
6. In a neighborhood of northern Paris, some protestors set of firecrackers and lit barricades on fire as police shot back with tear gas and stun grenades, Reuters reported.
7. French President Emmanuel Macron has cancelled his Germany visit in light of the prevailing situation. This would have been the he first state visit by a French president to Germany in 23 years and Macron was scheduled to fly on Sunday.
8. France’s justice minister, Dupond-Moretti on Saturdy warned that young people who share calls for violence on Snapchat or other apps could face legal prosecution.
9. Macron has previously blamed social media for fueling violence and urged people not to share sensitive content on it.
10. Earlier this week, Nahel’s mother talked with France 5 television and said, “He (the police officer) saw a little Arab-looking kid. He wanted to take his life.”

The protests over the death of the teen, who was of Algerian origin, have again exposed the severe racial tensions in modern France, increasing scrutiny on the police, who have long been accused of singling out minorities.