French mayors hold anti-violence rallies

PARIS — Mayors across France held rallies on Monday calling for an end to violent clashes that erupted after a teenager was shot dead by police last week, as signs emerged that the unrest was beginning to ease.

The government has battled riots and looting since 17-year-old Nahel M. was killed by an officer during a traffic stop on Tuesday, rekindling long-standing accusations of systemic racism among security forces.

Monday's demonstrations calling for a "return to republican order "came after the home of the mayor of a Paris suburb was rammed by a burning car, prompting widespread outrage.

"Democracy itself has been attacked… this can't continue and it won't," said Vincent Jeanbrun, the conservative mayor of L'Hay-les-Roses, whose home was attacked early on Sunday. His wife broke her leg as she escaped with their children aged 5 and 7.

The attack was widely condemned, with prosecutors opening an attempted murder investigation.

"I never would have imagined that my family would be threatened with death," Jeanbrun told French television.

Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said the deployment of 45,000 police and gendarmes would be maintained on Monday and Tuesday nights.

President Emmanuel Macron visited police barracks in the capital's 17th Arrondissement on Monday night, "assuring them of his support" in one of his first outings on the scene since the protests erupted, a source in his office said.

Authorities reported a sharp decline in incidents nationwide, with just 11 arrests in Paris and its suburbs as of 10 pm, the police department said.

A total of 157 people had been arrested overnight from Sunday to Monday — a small fraction of the number held the night before. Three police officers were also hurt.

Some 3,900 people have been arrested since Friday, including 1,244 minors, the justice ministry said.

"The nights have been tough for residents since Tuesday" when Nahel was killed, said Patrick Jarry, the mayor of Nanterre, just west of Paris where the teen of Algerian origin lived. "The string of violent episodes is unacceptable," he added, calling for calm.

But, in a move that could spark fresh anger, a collection for the family of the police officer who fired the fatal shot — now charged with voluntary manslaughter — topped 1 million euros ($1.1 million).

Although the violence appears to be diminishing, questions remain about the event that sparked it.

Investigators on Monday began interviewing a passenger in the car Nahel was driving without a license, a security source told Agence France-Presse.

Agencies via Xinhua