“UNACCEPTABLE EXPLOITATION”
The southern port city of Marseille was again the scene of clashes and looting from the centre and further north in the long-neglected low-income neighbourhoods that Macron visited at the start of the week.
In a bid to limit the violence and trams in France have stopped running after 9pm and the sale of large fireworks and inflammable liquids has been banned.
Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne also announced the cancellation of large-scale events across the country, which included two concerts this weekend by hugely popular singer Mylene Farmer at the Stade de France venue.
Macron, who initially denounced an “unforgivable” death, also Friday criticised an “unacceptable exploitation of a death of an adolescent” in some quarters and vowed to work with social networks to curb “copycat violence”.
He also urged parents to take responsibility for underage rioters, one-third of whom were “young or very young”.
The UN rights office said Friday that the killing of the teen of North African descent was “a moment for the country to seriously address the deep issues of racism and racial discrimination in law enforcement”.
The unrest has raised concerns abroad, with France hosting the Rugby World Cup in the autumn and then the Paris Olympic Games in the summer of 2024.
Britain and other European countries updated their travel advice to warn tourists to stay away from areas affected by the rioting.
“Our hotel members have suffered a wave of cancellations of reservations in all the territories affected by the damage and clashes,” said chef Thierry Marx, president of the main association for hotel and catering industry employers.
A 38-year-old policeman has been charged with voluntary homicide over the teenager’s death ,and has been remanded in custody.
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