French President Emmanuel Macron called an emergency Cabinet meeting Thursday morning in the wake of violent clashes that erupted across the country overnight after a teenager was killed by police in a Paris suburb, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.
“[It was] a night of unbearable violence against symbols of the Republic: town halls, schools and police stations [were] attacked or burned down,” said Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin on Thursday, adding that 150 people had been arrested.
Speaking to the press before entering the Cabinet meeting, Macron called the violence “unjustifiable.”
“The next few hours must first of all be a time for reflection and respect,” the French president said, according to Le Monde.
The death of a 17-year-old shot by police on Wednesday during a traffic stop in Nanterre, a western Paris suburb, sparked unrest across France.
In the Paris area, clashes between police and protesters turned violent in some cities, with dozens of rubbish bins and cars burned down.
Several police stations across the country were targeted with fireworks, including in Vaulx-en-Velin, near Lyon, police sources told French newswire AFP.
In the northern town of Mons-en-Barœul, near Lille, the town hall was set on fire using fireworks by “some 50 individuals wearing hoods,” local mayor Rudy Elegeest told AFP.
The teenager’s death has revived questions over the appropriate use of force by police officers, after video footage emerged on social media.
In the video, a police officer is seen pointing a gun at the driver of a car while standing by the driver’s window during a traffic stop before a gunshot is heard. The car crashed shortly after. The teen died of gunshot wounds to the chest.
On Wednesday, Macron said the killing was “inexplicable” and “inexcusable.”
The police officer who fired the shot has been detained, and an internal investigation into “voluntary manslaughter by a public official” has been opened.
Clea Caulcutt contributed reporting.
