France

Macron cancels trip over French riots as family buries teenager

PARIS, July 1 (Reuters) - More than 1,300 people were arrested in France during a fourth night of rioting and President Emmanuel Macron cancelled a trip to Germany on Saturday as the funeral took place of teenager Nahel M, whose shooting by police sparked nationwide unrest.

Macron's government deployed 45,000 police officers as well as armoured vehicles overnight to tackle the worst crisis for his leadership since the "Yellow Vest" protests which paralysed much of France in late 2018.

France arrests more than 1,300 people after fourth night of rioting over teen’s killing by police

PARIS (AP) — Rioting and looting raged in cities around France for a fourth night despite a huge police deployment and 1,311 arrests, as family and friends prepared Saturday to bury the 17-year-old whose killing by police unleashed the unrest and forced the French president to cancel an important trip abroad.

France’s Interior Ministry announced the new figure for arrests around the country, where 45,000 police officers fanned out in a so-far unsuccessful bid to quell days of violence that was triggered after the teen’s death on Tuesday.

Riots in France after racist police officer 'execute' teenager at point blank

30 June 2023; MEMO: All options, including putting the country in a state of emergency, will be considered to restore law and order after a third night of protests over the fatal police shooting of a 17-year-old French-Algerian, the French prime minister said today.

Elisabeth Borne told reporters that the government will be examining "all the options" with President Emmanuel Macron, who will hold an emergency meeting in the afternoon.

France: Mother of teen driver killed by police officer alleges racial motivation in his death

30 June 2023; MEMO: The mother of a 17-year-old delivery driver who was shot and killed by a police officer earlier this week during a traffic check in a Paris suburb said, Thursday, that she believes her son's death was driven by racial motivations, Anadolu Agency reports.

Nahel M.'s mother, Mounia, said during an interview broadcast on the France 5 TV channel that the police officer "saw the face of an Arab, a little kid" and "wanted to take his life".

French president urges parents to keep teens at home, faults social media as rioting spreads

PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron urged parents Friday to keep teenagers at home and proposed restrictions on social media to quell rioting spreading across France over the fatal police shooting of a 17-year-old driver that has resulted so far in the arrests of 875 people.

After a second crisis meeting with senior ministers, Macron maintained that social media platforms such as Snapchat and TikTok played a “considerable role” in fueling copycat acts of violence during this week’s unrest.

France unrest: Riots spread, thousands march in memory of shot teenager

NANTERRE, France, June 29 (Reuters) - President Emmanuel Macron fought to contain a mounting crisis on Thursday as unrest erupted for a third day over the deadly police shooting of a teenager of Algerian and Moroccan descent during a traffic stop in a Paris suburb.

Forty thousand police officers were to deploy across France -- nearly four times the numbers mobilised on Wednesday -- but there were few signs that government appeals to a de-escalation in the violence would quell the widespread anger.

UNESCO member states expected to approve US decision to rejoin the UN’s cultural agency

PARIS (AP) — UNESCO’s 193 members states are gathering Thursday for a two-day meeting in Paris aimed at voting on the United States’ plans to rejoin the U.N. cultural and scientific agency after a decade-long dispute sparked by the organization’s move to include Palestine as a member.

The U.S. announced earlier this month, that it wanted to return, five years after it withdrew from the agency during the presidency of Donald Trump.

France heightens security after unrest prompted by police shooting of 17-year-old

NANTERRE, France (AP) — France’s government on Wednesday announced heightened police presence around Paris and other big cities and called for calm after scattered violence erupted over the death of a 17-year-old delivery driver who was shot and killed during a police check.

The killing prompted nationwide concern and widespread messages of indignation and condolences, including from soccer star Kylian Mbappe. French President Emmanuel Macron called the young man’s death “inexplicable and inexcusable.”

France conducts maiden test of hypersonic glider

PARIS, June 27 (Reuters) - France has conducted a maiden test of a prototype hypersonic glider, the country's defence procurement agency said, as it seeks to develop new missile technology capable of evading the most sophisticated air defences.

The agency said a sounding rocket carrying a VMAX hypersonic glider launched on Monday from the Biscarosse missile test site on the Bay of Biscay, southwestern France.

Debt-plagued Zambia reaches deal with China, other nations to rework $6.3B in loans, French say

PARIS, June 23 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Zambia and its government creditors, including China, have reached a deal to restructure $6.3 billion in loans, the French government announced Thursday on the sidelines of a global finance summit in Paris.

The agreement covers loans from countries including France, the UK, South Africa, Israel and India as well as China — Zambia’s biggest creditor at $4.1 billion of the total.

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