France: 45,000 police officers positioned to deal with night rioting

France’s Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said the country is deploying 45,000 police officers to deal with any night rioting, Al Jazeera reported.

Approximately 40,000 police officers were mobilised the previous day. Meanwhile, more than 400 people were arrested in France on Thursday after protests swept across the country over the death of 17-year-old Nahel M, who was shot dead by an officer in Nanterre, about 11 km northwest of Paris city centre, CNN reported.

France’s elite police, the RAID, was posted in Bordeaux, Lyon, Roubaix, Marseille and Lille to help control the protests. Confrontations erupted between protesters and police in Nanterre, where the 17-year-old named Nahel was killed days before in Marseille.

Amid burning debris, “vengeance pour Nael” which translates to “revenge for Nael” appeared to be spray painted on a wall in Nanterre with regards to the slain teenager and using an alternative spelling of his name, the report said.

A bank was set on fire in Nanterre and 15 people were taken in by police for questioning after a march was carried out in memory of the teenager became violent.

Protesters threw fireworks at police officers in Marseille, CNN reported citing BFMTV. Six people were taken by police for questioning after they took part in a protest barred by authorities in Lille, the regional authority in a Facebook post, CNN reported.

The unrest erupted in France on Tuesday, hours after a police traffic stop in Nanterre which resulted in the killing of Nahel. During the night, 40 cars were burnt and 24 police officers were injured, according to French authorities.

The police officer has been placed under formal investigation for voluntary homicide and has been kept in preliminary detention, the report said.