Emmanuel Macron, the President of France, alleges that demonstrators are taking undue advantage of the death of a young man killed in close-range police gunfire.
Amid escalating tensions, Macron convened an emergency meeting, announcing the deployment of additional police forces to quell the ongoing violence, though he refrained from imposing a state of emergency.
Macron called upon parents to restrict their children from participating in the riots and demanded social media platforms to purge specific content.
The country is witnessing a surge of civil unrest, initiated by the fatal shooting of Nahel M, a 17-year-old youth, during his attempt to flee a traffic stop. This incident spurred three consecutive nights of disorder across the nation.
On Thursday night alone, authorities reported a staggering 915 arrests. In response, the government plans to dispatch 45,000 police officers to prevent further upheaval.
The French President observed that a significant portion of the arrested rioters were young, some as young as 13, a fact later corroborated by Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin.
Macron asserted the parental "responsibility" to ensure their children's non-participation in the protests.
Expressing a stern condemnation of the violence witnessed over the past three days, Macron stated that the teenager's death has been manipulated to legitimize violent acts – an exploitation he deemed unacceptable.
The French President also requested prominent social media platforms, including TikTok and Snapchat, to eliminate particularly sensitive content and assist authorities by identifying individuals using their platforms for inciting violence.
Snapchat, in response, reiterated its strict policy against content that fuels violence or hatred and promised vigilant monitoring.
The nation-wide riots resulted in widespread vandalism, from Lille and Roubaix in the north to Marseille in the south. Increased incidents of arson, damaged streets, and plundered shops marked the chaos. The interior ministry noted a rise in public road fires, amounting to 3,880 on Thursday, a significant increase from Wednesday's 2,391.
In France's second-largest city, Marseille, 80 arrests had already been made by Friday evening. Several cities enforced early curfews and halted public transport.
Some public gatherings, including concerts by French pop sensation Mylène Farmer, were cancelled due to the escalating unrest.
Nahel, the teenager whose death ignited these riots, was a resident of Nanterre, a suburb of Paris. This has made the capital a focal point of the ongoing unrest. His refusal to obey a traffic stop led to his fatal shooting. A video circulated online shortly after his death, showing police attempting to halt his vehicle, with one officer aiming a gun at Nahel.
The officer involved in the shooting has been charged with voluntary homicide and has expressed his remorse to the victim's family.
Nahel's death has sparked a heated discourse regarding French law enforcement policies, particularly a contentious 2017 legislation permitting police to shoot at non-compliant drivers.
Racial bias within the police force is also under scrutiny, with the UN human rights office suggesting that this unrest offers France an opportunity to confront deeply-rooted racial discrimination within law enforcement.
Nahel's mother, Mounia, blamed the police officer, stating that he didn't have to kill her son, arguing that her son was targeted because of his Algerian descent.
On Thursday, Mounia led a mostly peaceful march in Nanterre, demanding justice for her son. Unfortunately, the march eventually devolved into violence, marking the third consecutive night of civil disorder.
Nahel's funeral is scheduled for Saturday morning in Nanterre.