Firefighter dies after another night of violence in France

Jul 03, 2023

A firefighter has died in France after responding to a blaze in an underground car park, the interior minister has said.

Gerald Darmanin said the 24-year-old died in Saint-Denis, in the northern suburbs of Paris, despite the efforts of his colleagues.

“All my sincere and saddened condolences to his family, loved ones, comrades and to the BSPP [Paris Fire Brigade],” Mr Darmanin said.

It comes after nearly a week of violence in France following the fatal police shooting of Nahel Merzouk, 17, who was killed during a traffic stop.

The teenager was buried on Saturday.

Thousands of people have been arrested in the riots which have also involved violence and looting.

Overnight, more than 150 people were detained, while at least three of the 45,000 police officers deployed were injured.

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This marks a significant decrease in overnight arrests, down from 700 on Saturday and more than 1,300 on Friday.

There were also 352 urban fires recorded and 297 reports of vehicles burnt on Sunday night.

Cities across Paris have now seen five nights of heavy riots as Emmanuel Macron’s government attempted to regain control of the situation, just months after widespread protests over an unpopular pension reform and a year out from hosting the Olympic Summer Games.

Meanwhile, Nahel Merzouk’s grandmother urged rioters to stop the violence that has seen cars torched, stores looted and town halls and other buildings targeted – including the home of the mayor of a Paris suburb that was attacked while his wife and children were asleep inside on Saturday.

President Emmanuel Macron held a special security meeting Sunday night and plans to meet with the heads of both houses of parliament and the mayors of 220 towns and cities affected by the protests over the next two days.

He wants to start a detailed, longer-term assessment of the reasons that led to the unrest, a French official said.

The president also delayed what would have been the first state visit to Germany by a French president in 23 years, which had been scheduled to start Sunday evening.

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