France has issued instructions for the complete shutdown of all public bus and tram services before 9pm.
The decision has been made to avert further damage, injuries and violence following riots sparked by the fatal shooting of a 17-year-old boy by police, the interior ministry said on Friday.
A crisis meeting convened by French President Emmanuel Macron, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin and other senior government officials also resolved to ban the sale and carrying of powerful fireworks, AP news agency reports.
The unregulated sale of petrol, acids and other flammable liquids has also been prohibited, Darmanin said.
President Macron has urged parents to keep teenagers at home, and has also proposed restrictions on social media to quell rioting that has spread across France, and led to the arrests of at least 875 people.
‘Copycat’ acts
Macron maintains that social media platforms such as Snapchat and TikTok have played a “considerable role” in fuelling copycat acts of violence during this week’s unrest.
Macron said his government would work with technology companies to establish procedures for “the removal of the most sensitive content.”
He did not specify the content he had in mind but said: “I expect a spirit of responsibility from these platforms.”
French authorities also plan to request, when “useful,” the identities "of those who use these social networks to call for disorder or exacerbate the violence,” Macron said.
According to the French government, a third of the suspects in custody are young people. Macron says it is the “parents’ responsibility” to keep their children at home.
“We sometimes have the feeling that some of them are living in the streets,” Macron said.
Third night of riots
The French riots entered a third night on Thursday since a police officer shot and killed a teenage driver in the northwestern suburb of Nanterre in the capital Paris.
Rioters erected barricades, lit fires and shot fireworks at police, who responded with teargas, water cannons and stun grenades. Police said at least 200 police officers have been injured.
Macron’s government has deployed 40,000 officers to restore order and make arrests over behaviour he described as “unacceptable and unjustifiable.”
There was speculation that the government would announce a state of emergency due to the recent violent protests.
Macron, however, stopped short of making that announcement. The state of emergency is a tactic that has been used by a previous French government – in 2005 – to quell rioting after the accidental deaths of two boys who were fleeing arrest.
Algerian descent
A relative of the 17-year-old boy, who only has been identified by his first name, Nahel, told AFP news agency that the teenager’s family is of Algerian descent.
His burial is scheduled for Saturday, according to Nanterre Mayor Patrick Jarry, who said the country needs to “push for changes” in disadvantaged neighbourhoods.
“There’s a feeling of injustice in many residents’ minds, whether it’s about school achievement, getting a job, access to culture, housing and other life issues," Jarry said. "I believe we are in that moment when we need to face the urgency [of the situation]."
Nanterre prosecutor, Pascal Prache, said officers tried to pull Nahel over because he looked so young and was driving a Mercedes with Polish license plates in a bus lane.
Voluntary homicide
He allegedly drove past a red light to avoid being stopped and then got stuck in traffic.
The police officer accused of fatally shooting the teenager has been handed a preliminary charge of voluntary homicide.
The suspect said he feared he and his colleague could be hit by the car as Nahel attempted to flee, according to the prosecutor.
