French President Emmanuel Macron holds emergency meeting after riots erupt

French President Emmanuel Macron held an emergency meeting yesterday after riots erupted for the fifth night in a row across  the country following the death of Nahel, a 17-year-old teenager killed during a traffic stop by a French police officer.

Other attendees included Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, and Justice Minister Éric Dupont-Moretti.

The French government said 719 people were arrested overnight, around half the figure of the previous night but with intense clashes still reported in several places, including the southern city of Marseille, but calmer elsewhere.

Nahel’s grandmother, Nadia, in a telephone interview to BFM television, said that the rioters were only using Nahel’s, death as a pretext. She appealed people to stop and do not riot.