France: Anti-violence rallies held as riot tensions ease

Demonstrations continued in France on Monday, but this time in solidarity with local governments previously attacked by angry rioters who had been on the streets.

Those protesters were decrying the recent killing of a teenager at a traffic stop by a police officer, with some of them engaging in violence.

Rallygoers gathered outside French town halls to condemn the violence which had shrouded the country for most of last week, while the riots saw a significant lull.

The teen, 17-year-old Nahel, was shot and killed by a police officer at close range at a traffic stop in the western Paris suburb of Nanterre last Tuesday. He was of Algerian origin.

The teenager's death prompted unrest, clashes and arson attacks in several Paris suburbs. The unrest expanded nationwide with nightly protests and riots often taking a violent turn.

Those outraged by the killing aim to highlight the discrimination, and often violence, they say minorities in France face at the hands of the police.

What do the anti-violence rallygoers want?

The demonstrations were called a "mobilization of citizens for a return to republican order." They followed a riot attack on the house of a mayor over the weekend, while his family was inside.

Rioters rammed a car rigged with incendiaries into the house of l'Hay-les-Roses Mayor Vincent Jeanbrun.

Regional authorities in several areas nationwide announced an emergency support worth tens of millions of euros to repair the public buildings and small businesses affected by the riots.

Some 34 buildings, many linked to the government, and nearly 300 vehicles were attacked overnight between Sunday and Monday.

French President Emmanuel Macron will meet with mayors representing 220 towns nationwide on Tuesday. 

"We want justice for Nahel and that the calls for an end of the violence expressed by his grandmother and mother be respected," said Nanterre Mayor Patrick Jarry. He spoke from outside the city hall of Nanterre, Nahel's home suburb.

The riots have cost the French public transport operator some €20 million (roughly $21.8 million) in damages to transport vehicles in the Paris region, the operator told the French AFP news agency. The damage includes "burned buses, a torched tramway, two damaged tramways and urban infrastructure which was smashed."

Fund for culprit policeman gathers some $1 million

Meanwhile, a fund set up for the police officer being investigated for killing the teenage boy has amassed more than €986,000 (approximately $1.07 million). The number is more than five times more than that collected for the victim's family.

The fund was set up by far-right Egyptian-born commentator Jean Messiha, a former adviser to far-right leader Marine Le Pen. He argues that the officer was only "doing his work and is paying a heavy price."

Nahel's grandmother, who had called on the rioters to end the violence, said she was "heartbroken" by the support the police officer received.

"He took the life of my grandson. This man must pay, the same as everyone," she told the BFM TV channel on Sunday.

The 38-year-old policeman is detained and charged with voluntary manslaughter.

A video of the incident that has gone viral shows the officer stopping the car Nahel was driving without a license, with his weapon drawn. He shoots the youth at point-blank range as the car drives off.

Besides the killing, the officer is also charged with making false statements. He had initially claimed he opened fire when Nahel drove toward him.

On Monday, police began interviewing a witness in the case, a passenger in the car with Nahel at the time of the incident, AFP said.

rmt/wd (AFP, AP)