At least 77 people were arrested on Wednesday in France following protests that began on Tuesday after police shot dead a 17-year-old in Nanterre, on the outskirts of Paris.
Paris police headquarters reported the number of arrests, which took place in the Ile-de-France region of France, located on the outskirts of the capital, reported the daily Le Figaro.
The newspaper also mentioned an attempt to escape inmates from the Fresnes prison, in the same area. Dozens of hooded men tried to enter the prison, but the attempt was repelled.
In Nanterre, where the clashes were more violent, “several public and private buildings, including schools, suffered significant and unacceptable damage, sometimes irreparable”, said the municipality, calling for an end to this “destructive spiral”.
The clashes, which spread to several municipalities around Paris, had already led to the arrest of 31 people, minor injuries to 24 elements of the security forces and about 40 cars burned, indicated the French Ministry of the Interior.
Protesters attacked several police vehicles, police stations and town halls, set fire to a primary school and a shop. The situation in Nanterre is out of control, according to Le Figaro, indicating that the police have left the scene of the clashes.
Protests began after a 17-year-old was shot in the chest at a police checkpoint after his vehicle was intercepted. The agent responsible, who is being held, claimed at a first hearing that he acted “in self-defense”.
After the teenager’s death, the police reported a hit-and-run attempt, although a video contradicted this version.
The Government has meanwhile sent around two thousand police to Nanterre.
