Paris riots – latest: UK issues France travel warning after looting across city

The UK has warned residents traveling to France that there could be “disruptions” to driving on roads and public transport after a third night of violent protests over the shooting dead of a teenager by police.

“Since June 27, there have been riots across France. Many have turned violent. Shops, public buildings and parked cars were attacked. “There may be disruption to road traffic and the local transport service may be limited,” says the updated guideline from the Federal Foreign Office.

“Some local authorities may impose curfews. The locations and timing of the riots are unpredictable. You should keep an eye on the media, avoid areas where there is unrest, check tour operators for the latest advice when travelling, and heed the advice of authorities.”

France’s interior minister has urged local prefects across France to halt all bus and tram services on Friday night following widespread unrest. Reuters reports.

France is considering “all options” to restore order after rioters set fire to cars and buildings and looted shops across the country – in a third night of violent anger over the police killing of a teenager during a traffic stop in a Paris suburb.

President Emmanuel Macron, who has so far resisted growing calls for a state of emergency to be declared, arrived in Paris from Brussels after leaving an EU summit early to attend a second crisis cabinet meeting in two days.

Anthony Cuthbertson Reports from Nanterre, the Paris suburb where 17-year-old Nahel was shot:

Marseille, France’s second-largest city, has decided to ban public demonstrations this Friday following the latest unrest in France last night, the city’s local authorities said.

From 7 p.m. local time this Friday, all public transport in Marseille will also be closed.

The 17-year-old, identified as Nahel, was driving a car on Tuesday morning when he was pulled over for violating traffic rules, prosecutors said. The teenager was too young to hold a full driving license in France.

Police initially reported that an officer shot the teenager because he drove his car towards him. However, this version of events was quickly contradicted by a video circulating on social media.

On Thursday, Nanterre prosecutors said that witness statements, CCTV video footage, amateur video footage and statements from police tenders were used to compile the timetable of Tuesday morning’s events.

Emmanuel Macron is urging parents to keep teenagers at home to stem the spread of unrest across France and says social media is fueling copycat violence.

After a second crisis meeting with senior ministers, the French President on Friday said social media was playing a “significant role” in spreading unrest sparked by the deadly police shooting of a 17-year-old boy.

He said he wanted social media like Snapchat and TikTok to remove sensitive content and organize violence online.

Of young rioters, he said, “We sometimes feel like some of them are living on the streets with the video games that got them high.”

Night videos on social media showed urban landscapes ablaze across the country. A tram was set on fire in the eastern city of Lyon and 12 buses were destroyed at a depot in Aubervilliers, north of Paris.

The facade of the adjacent water sports center Aubervilliers, which is used for training for the 2024 Olympics, was slightly damaged by the fire, SOLIDEO – the company in charge of the Games infrastructure – told Reuters.

In Nanterre on the outskirts, protesters set fire to cars, barricaded roads and threw projectiles at police after a peaceful vigil was held earlier to commemorate the dead boy.

At the Chatelet Les Halles shopping center in central Paris, a Nike shoe store was broken into and several people arrested after shop windows were smashed along the adjacent Rue de Rivoli shopping street, Paris police said.

Transport Secretary Clement Beaune told RMC radio early on Friday that he did not rule out a closure of the capital’s public transport network.

A source told Reuters that several casino supermarkets had been looted across the country.

The French government was due to examine “all options” for restoring order on Friday after nationwide unrest escalated overnight into the most destructive rioting since police shot dead a teenager at a traffic stop.

President Emmanuel Macron was en route from Brussels to Paris after leaving an EU summit early so he could attend a second crisis cabinet meeting in two days.

The government will examine “all options” to restore order, said Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, calling the violence “intolerable and inexcusable” in a tweet.

“The priority is to ensure national unity and the way to do that is to restore order,” she later told reporters during a visit to a Paris suburb.

Nahel’s last name was not released by authorities or his family. His mother called for a silent march in his honor on Thursday in the square where the teenager was killed.

“I lost a 17-year-old child, they took my baby away from me,” the mother, who is not named, said in a TikTok video.

“He was just a kid, he needed his mother. This morning he gave me a big kiss and told me he loves me. I told him to be careful and I loved him.”

Alisha Rahaman Sarkar Reports: