[ad_1]
Nantes (dpa) – Outraged by the death of a 22-year-old man at a police checkpoint, violent riots took place in the French city of Nantes. A policeman fired at the young driver and fatally injured him – according to the police, because he had hit an official.
Thirty cars and several shops were lit during the night, according to the prefecture of Nantes. "The damage is substantial," said the prefect Nicole Klein at the station BFMTV. Several parts of the city near the Atlantic coast were affected by the riots. Interior Minister Gerard Collomb condemned "violence and destruction unacceptable" and called for rest, as his ministry has announced.
Dramatic events evoke riots in the suburbs of 2005. At that time, two young people fleeing the police were in mortal danger in a transformer house and suffered a deadly electric shock – the accident triggered weeks of revolts young people in the suburbs.
Minister Collomb now promised "all necessary means" to "calm the situation and prevent any further incidents". It was up to the judiciary to clarify the circumstances that led to the death of the motorist .
According to local police chief Jean-Christophe Bertrand, the riot police had asked the young man to park his car and report to the police station. But the driver had reset "to escape control". A policeman was hit on the knee, after which a colleague opened fire. The driver died later in the hospital. However, several French media cited alleged eyewitnesses who disagreed with the police version.
An arrest warrant was issued against the young man from the Paris region, said prosecutor Pierre Sennès at the French news agency AFP. He was wanted for gang theft, robbery and criminal union.
News of the police operation, according to concordant media reports, has angered many residents of the neighborhood. Some teenagers said that they wanted revenge, reported France Bleu Loire Ocean. According to the regional newspaper "Ouest-France", young people have launched incendiaries on police officers. Security forces used tear gas.
The mayor of Nantes, Johanna Rolland, calls the inhabitants of the city of western France to rest. The judiciary must explain in complete independence what has happened. Wednesday morning, the situation has calmed down, according to the prefect.
Source link
