By CHRIS JEWERS
PUBLISHED: 09:38 EDT, 3 July 2023 | UPDATED: 09:39 EDT, 3 July 2023
Since riots broke out in France last week, shocking footage of street violence has flooded social media showing the extent of the chaos.
Thousands of people have been filmed in cities from Paris to Marseille clashing with police, setting fire to buildings and - in some cases - even firing guns into the air.
The unrest - sparked by the police shooting of 17-year-old Nahel M. - appeared to slow on its sixth night, but still public buildings, cars and municipal bins were targeted nationwide by fires and vandalism overnight and into Monday morning.
In all, according to the Interior Ministry, there were 157 arrests overnight, out of a total of 3,354 arrests in all since June 27, while 45,000 officers were deployed nationwide to counter violence fueled by anger over discrimination.
French President Emmanuel Macron has zeroed in on social media platforms that have relayed dramatic images of vandalism and cars and buildings being torched. Singling out Snapchat and TikTok, he said they were being used to organize unrest and served as conduits for copycat violence.
Such clips show the huge scale of the violence, with streets of some of the country's most famous cities more resembling warzones than picturesque French avenues.
In footage filmed by rioters and onlookers, people have been seen looting shops - including clothes stores and car dealerships - and escaping with bags of loot, or even cars and motorbikes stolen from showrooms.
Other clips have shown rioters wielding firearms, with at least one video appearing to show someone firing off rounds in the direction of riot police.
Another showed one rioters shooting what appeared to be a shotgun at a CCTV camera, which another purportedly showed men firing AK-47s into the air - raising questions over how such weapons have found themselves into the hands of the public.
Stolen vehicles have also been used to ram through door and gates, or set alight on the streets as part of barricades.
In one clip posted online, a stolen city bus is shown being driven at speed through a flaming barricade, its wheels briefly catching fire as it barrels through.
Elsewhere, another bus - this time a large coach - is seen being torched in a video, with a rioter parking it on top of a flaming street barricade and leaving it to burn.
Another video showed a horse-drawn carriage with no driver running amok down a street, crashing through the outdoor area of a cafe.
As the horse ran through, it appeared the trample a number of customers, with the carriage bouncing up behind the animal as it knocked down people and tables.
Comments