At least 72 people were arrested in the seventh consecutive night of riots in France, which according to the Interior Ministry registered fewer incidents compared to recent days.
The number of arrests from Monday to Tuesday reported by the Government, without mentioning the seriousness of the events, is less than the 157 the night before and the 400 arrests from Saturday to Sunday.
According to official data, during the riots that broke out last week, 159 cars were set on fire, 24 public buildings were damaged, as well as four police stations.
In recent days, 45,000 police and gendarmes have been deployed in various parts of the country, but mainly in the Paris region.
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, today receives more than 200 mayors from the areas where riots have been registered at the Élysée Palace.
heard by TSF, José Falcão, from the SOS Racismo association, stresses that what is happening in France is a consequence of the attitude of hatred that exists in French neighborhoods and that the extreme right is infiltrating the police. Regarding the disrespect and destruction that is experienced in the streets of the main French cities, the activist, although he does not defend the attitude, considers that it is a way for the marginalized population to be heard.
“Let’s be clear, that was an execution, it was not a mistake, and it is normal for people to react however they can. I am not defending it, because I have never done that in my life of burning cars, but the truth is that people do what they can, and if it is setting fire to cars that you listen to people, who has the right to shoot even if be a stone when those people who are setting fire to the cars are the ones who get up in the morning at 5:00 am and go to work to do the jobs we don’t want to do,” he says.
The leader of SOS Racismo also adds that this revolt that is taking place in the French streets is the result of anger against systemic racism in French society.
“It is rage, they are fighting for what they believe is the systemic racism of French society and that is what it is about. Given that nobody does absolutely nothing or they do very little, what happens to the Afro-descendant or Maghreb community makes people, in one way or another, explode, as has happened with some frequency”, he adds.
According to the French employers’ association Medef, the riots have already caused estimated damage of about one billion euros: 200 commercial establishments were completely looted and 300 bank branches destroyed, as well as 250 street kiosks.
Medef has not yet included a forecast of the possible impact of the incidents on the image of France in terms of tourism.
The riots sparked on June 27 when a 17-year-old boy was shot dead by a police officer at a traffic checkpoint.
The young man, who did not have a driving license, was shot while trying to avoid police checkpoints in Nanterre, on the outskirts of Paris.
Emmanuel Macron visited several Paris fire stations on Monday that are located in the areas closest to the places where the riots take place, after admitting the possibility of “financially sanctioning” minors responsible for acts of violence.
The Prime Minister, Élisabeth Borne, today receives the leaders of the majority parliamentary groups after having met on Monday with the leaders of the opposition parties.
Source: TSF
