Emmanuel Macron is facing arguably the gravest crisis of his presidency after another night of rioting across France. Much of the trouble was in the Paris region, particularly Nanterre, to the west of capital, where on Tuesday police shot dead a 17-year-old after he sped away from a vehicle checkpoint.
On a night of extreme violence, police cars were torched, police stations mortared, shops pillaged, trams destroyed and an attempt was made to storm a prison at Fresnes. Dozens of rioters were arrested in Paris, but there was also disorder across France, from Lille in the north to Lyon in the east to Toulouse in the south.
Successive governments have baulked from taking back control of the ‘lost territories’
Macron had appealed for calm on Wednesday but his comments only enflamed an already tense situation. The president described the death of the teenager as ‘inexplicable’ and ‘inexcusable’, words that drew an angry response from right-wing politicians and police unions.
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