Violence in France is abating somewhat

During the night, the violent protests in France continued to subside. Hundreds had previously expressed their solidarity with the mayor of a Paris suburb whose family had been attacked.

After the riots in France that lasted several days, the situation calmed down further during the night. According to the authorities, the number of arrests in the greater Paris area fell again, major incidents were not reported.

President Emmanuel Macron visited a police barracks in the 17th arrondissement together with Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin in the evening and held talks in the police prefecture of Paris shortly after midnight, as the Elysée Palace announced. 17 people were arrested in Ile-de-France by 11:30 p.m. – after 40 the previous evening and 400 on Thursday last week.

The massive presence of 45,000 security forces was maintained. The President ordered this “to support the return to peace and order,” said Macron’s environment. The President was scheduled to meet with the mayors of 220 cities across the country affected by the violence on Tuesday.

Solidarity with attacked mayor

Hundreds of people rallied in the Parisian suburb of L’Haÿ-les-Roses on Monday in support of Mayor Vincent Jeanbrun, whose family was attacked by rioters.

“We saw the true faces of the rioters, the assassins,” said Jeanbrun. France and democracy itself would be under attack in the riots that have gripped the country since 17-year-old Nahel was shot dead during a police check last week.

Jeanbrun’s home was rammed by a vehicle set on fire by rioters early Sunday morning. His wife and one of his young children were injured. The authorities announced an investigation into attempted murder.

99 town halls attacked

On Monday, many French voiced their support for local and regional governments. In an emotional speech, Jeanbrun asked the “silent majority” to raise their voice and say “stop”. “It’s enough!” The crowd replied, “Enough!”

In other places affected by violence, crowds also gathered in front of town halls on Monday to show their solidarity with the city administrations. According to the Interior Ministry, a total of 99 town halls were attacked.

Over a billion euros in damage

The employers’ association estimates the damage caused by the unrest in France to be over a billion euros. “It’s too early to give an exact number, but we’re at over a billion euros without taking into account the damage to tourism,” said the head of the French employers’ association Medef, Geoffroy Roux de Bézieux, the newspaper “Le Parisien”.

Over 200 shops were completely looted, 300 bank branches were destroyed and 250 tobacconists were damaged. The rioters acted with absolute violence and even stole the cash register before setting it on fire.