Paris riots – latest: UK issues France travel warning after looting across city

The UK has warned residents travelling to France they could face “disruption” to road and public transport journeys following a third night of violent protests over the police shooting of a teenager.

“Since 27 June, riots have taken place across France. Many have turned violent. Shops, public buildings and parked cars have been targeted. There may be disruptions to road travel and local transport provision may be reduced, “ the Foreign Office said in updated guidance.

“Some local authorities may impose curfews. Locations and timing of riots are unpredictable. You should monitor the media, avoid areas where riots are taking place, check the latest advice with operators when travelling and follow the advice of the authorities.”

Overnight videos on social media showed urban landscapes ablaze across the country. A tram was set alight in the eastern city of Lyon and 12 buses gutted in a depot in Aubervilliers, northern Paris.

The facade of the adjacent Aubervilliers aquatic centre, where training will take place for the Olympics in 2024, was slightly damaged in the fire, SOLIDEO – the company in charge of the Games’ infrastructures – told Reuters.

In Nanterre on the city’s outskirts, protesters torched cars, barricaded streets and hurled projectiles at police following an earlier peaceful vigil held to pay tribute to the dead boy.

In the Chatelet Les Halles shopping mall in central Paris, a Nike shoe store was broken into, and several people were arrested after store windows were smashed along the adjacent Rue de Rivoli shopping street, Paris police said.

Transport Minister Clement Beaune told RMC radio early on Friday he did not rule out shutting down the capital’s public transport network.

A source told Reuters that several Casino supermarkets were looted across the country.

France’s government was set to examine “all options” for restoring order on Friday after nationwide unrest escalated overnight into the most destructive rioting since police shot and killed a teenager at a traffic stop.

President Emmanuel Macron was en route to Paris from Brussels after leaving a European Union summit early so he could attend a second cabinet crisis meeting convened in two days.

The government would examine “all options” for restoring order, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said, calling the violence “intolerable and inexcusable” in a tweet.

“The priority is to ensure national unity and the way to do it is to restore order,” she later told reporters during a visit to a Paris suburb.

Nahel’s last name has not been released by authorities or his family. His mother has called for a silent march on Thursday in his honour in the square where the teenager was killed.

“I lost a child of 17-year-old, they took my baby,” the mother, who has not been named, said in a TikTok video.

“He was still a child, he needed his mother. This morning he gave me a big kiss and told me he loved me. I told him be careful and I loved him.”

Alisha Rahaman Sarkar reports:

People in France are becoming “afraid” due to the “increasing violence” on the streets after the police killing of Nahel M.

Amina Kalache, a journalist who lives in the district where the teenager was shot dead, said the unrest got more intense on Thursday night.

More comments from Ms Kalache below:

The United Nations rights office said on Friday it was concerned by the fatal shooting of a teenager by police that triggered unrest across France.

“This is a moment for the country to seriously address the deep issues of racism and racial discrimination in law enforcement,” spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said.

“We also emphasize the importance of peaceful assembly. We call on the authorities to ensure use of force by police to address violent elements in demonstrations always respects the principles of legality, necessity, proportionality, non-discrimination, precaution and accountability.”

Footage showed him tapping his foot along to the 76-year-old pianist as he performed hits such as “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting” and “Burn Down the Mission”.

A video shows shops in Paris ruined after a third night of violent protests over the police killing of a teenager.

Protesters erected barricades, lit fires and shot fireworks at police in French streets overnight as tensions grew over the deadly police shooting of a 17-year-old.

Overnight protesters lit a fire at the city hall of the suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois and set a bus depot ablaze in Aubervilliers.

Shops were also looted and damaged during the unrest

The clean-up from yesterday’s riots in Nanterre is underway. It’s the third morning in a row for municipal workers here, with one telling me he expects to be back again tomorrow morning, Anthony Cuthbertson reports from Nanterre.

Dozens of shopfronts are smashed up, with one bank completely gutted by arsonists. Some fires are still smouldering, and one street alone has six burnt‐out cars lined up on one side.

“We closed early yesterday, expecting trouble,” says Pascal Mitieus, as he picks broken glass from the shattered windows of his salad shop.

“It was calm when I left but by 4pm it had turned to hell. It’s getting worse and worse. It’s become completely out of control.”

Despite the mess it’s remarkably peaceful here this morning. A few feet from a burned out carousel a man is fishing in the lake, which protesters were using yesterday to wash teargas off their face. “I missed all that,” he says. “I was sleeping.”