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French Interior Minister: Public order has been restored in the country

2023-07-03 21:27:55, Kosova & Bota CNA

France woke to calm on Monday after a week of riots that rocked the country, sparked by the killing of a 17-year-old boy by a police officer. The victim was of Algerian origin and activists say he was killed because of his ethnicity. The event has revived an old debate in France over ethnic and racial prejudice.

French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on Monday that public order had been restored in the country as he visited a damaged post office in the city of Reims. But he added that the police will continue to be mobilized throughout the country.

" We need to take some time to reflect and try to talk to people about housing projects. We are also determined against bandits. I think this is the right balance and we should not make social excuses where there are none ," he said.

Even in Nanterre, a neighborhood on the outskirts of Paris, where the 17-year-old was killed, the situation seemed to have calmed down.

" We hope that justice will be done for Nahel. Also to listen and respect the call to stop the violence and destruction, as requested by the family of Naheli and in particular his grandmother ", said the Mayor of Nanterre Patrick Jarry.

However, during the night, as Monday dawned, public buildings, cars and trash cans continued to be the object of vandalism. The Interior Ministry announced that it had made 157 arrests overnight, out of a total of 3,354 since June 27, when the unrest began.

The violence followed the death of the 17-year-old identified as Nahel M. He was stopped by the police on suspicion of violating traffic rules. The police officer involved in the incident said he thought the teenager was going to hit someone with his car, but activists say the killing of the 17-year-old happened because of his ethnicity.

" This is what happens when you are French but of foreign origin. We are not considered French. They only see the color of our skin, where we come from. You can't kill someone without a reason... this has to stop ," said Tracy Ladji, representative of the organization 'SOS Racisme', participant in one of the protests that followed the murder of the 17-year-old.

A statement from the United Nations Human Rights office said the incident should serve as a motivation for France to seriously address the deep-seated issues of racism and discrimination in law enforcement.

As of June 27, around 45,000 officers were deployed across the country to bring the situation under control. According to the Ministry of the Interior, dozens of police officers were attacked throughout the country and about 300 vehicles and 34 buildings were set on fire.

But the calming of the situation in the country has not extinguished the questions about what is expected to happen next in France./ VOA