France riots: 45,000 police deployed as Paris mayor's house 'rammed' by car

An arson attack on the wife and children of a Paris mayor has been condemned as an 'assassination attempt' amid escalating violence in France following the death of a 17-year-old boy, Sejal Karia reports

The mayor of a Parisian suburb has accused French rioters of "a murder attempt of unspeakable cowardice" after his home was attacked early on Sunday morning amid ongoing unrest in the country.

Widespread riots, looting, and violence have been sparked by the death of a 17-year-old boy in Nanterre on Tuesday.

The French government deployed 45,000 police to head off a fifth night of violence while President Emmanuel Macron was forced to postpone a state visit to Germany.

President Emmanuel Macron held a special security meeting Sunday night, it is not clear whether he would make public comments. 

The mayor of L’Haÿ-les-Roses, a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, has said in a statement: "At 1:30 a.m., while I was at the city hall like the past three nights, individuals rammed their car upon my residence before setting fire to it to burn my house, inside which my wife and my two young children slept.

"While trying to protect the children and escape the attackers, my wife and one of my children were injured," Vincent Jeanbrun added.

Regional prosecutor Stephane Hardouin opened an investigation into attempted murder, telling French television that a preliminary investigation suggests the car was meant to ram the house and set it ablaze. He said a flame accelerant was found in a bottle in the car.Nahel M, whose family have roots in Algeria, was buried on Saturday.

The grandmother of the 17-year-old, identified only as Nadia, said in a telephone interview with French news broadcaster BFM TV, “Don’t break windows, buses ... schools. We want to calm things down.”

She said she was angry at the officer who killed her grandson but not at the police in general and expressed faith in the justice system as France faces its worst social upheaval in years. 

Hundreds of mourners from France’s Islamic community gathered to form a procession from a mosque in Nanterre.

He was killed by a gunshot and died at the scene during a traffic stop, and a police officer has been detained on suspicion of manslaughter, according to the local prosecutor’s office.

The boy's mother, dressed in white at the funeral, voiced her anger at the police officer involved in a French news interview: "He saw a little Arab-looking kid. He wanted to take his life," she said.

The incident has prompted widespread outrage across the entire country - shops, public buildings, parked cars have been torched and smashed, and fiery clashes have now occurred in Brussels, Marseille, and Lyon.

The unrest has further exposed a deep-seated discontent in low-income neighborhoods over discrimination and lack of opportunity in France, as evident in Nanterre, where emotions over Nahel's loss remain raw.

The reaction to his death has so far served as a reminder of the discrimination and limited job prospects in neighborhoods across the nation where many trace their roots to former French colonies.

The mass police deployment has been welcomed by some frightened residents of targeted neighborhoods, but it has also caused frustration for those who see police behavior as the core of France’s current crisis.

In 2005, the country was shaken by weeks of riots prompted by the death of two teenagers who were electrocuted in a power substation in the Paris suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois while fleeing police.

Over 3,000 people have been arrested since the riots began on June 27.

Overnight, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin tweeted that Saturday night had been "quieter" than previous ones, thanks to “the resolute action of security forces," putting the night's arrest toll at 719.

Family and friends gathered in Nanterre on Saturday for the funeral of Nahel, their mourning a reminder of the frustrations felt in low-income neighbourhoods

Mr Darmanin tweeted late on Saturday that 200 riot police had been mobilised in the port city of Marseille, where TV showed footage of police using tear gas as night fell.

About 2,500 fires were set and stores were ransacked, according to authorities.

The justice minister said 30% of those detained were minors, some as young as 13: “It's not up to the state to raise children,” said the minister, Eric Dupond-Moretti, lashing out at parents of underage rioters.

President Emmanuel Macron has postponed a state visit to Germany because of the unrest, and blamed social media for fueling violence.

The UK government updated its guidance for travellers to France to warn of “potential disruption” but it does not advise against travel to the country.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay encouraged people considering travelling to France to check the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) for updated advice.

Footage on social media shows fires in the streets of France

Mr Darmanin has also ordered a ban on the sale and carrying of powerful fireworks, which rioters have launched at police officers and buildings, as well as the sale of canisters of gasoline, acids, and other chemicals and flammable liquids, the ministry said.

Despite the escalating crisis, Macron held off on declaring a state of emergency, an option used in 2005.

France's justice minister, Dupond-Moretti, warned that young people who share calls for violence on Snapchat or other apps could face legal prosecution.

Macron has blamed social media for fueling violence.

Violence was also erupting in some of France’s territories overseas on Friday.

In French Guiana, a 54-year-old was killed by a stray bullet Thursday night when rioters fired at police in the capital, Cayenne, authorities said.

On the small Indian Ocean island of Reunion, protesters set garbage bins ablaze, threw projectiles at police, and damaged cars and buildings, officials said.

French football star Kylian Mbappe has urged the violence to stop.

"Violence solves nothing, even less when it inevitably and tirelessly turns against those who express it, their families, loved ones and neighbours," the 24-year-old said in a statement on Twitter.

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