The riots that have taken place in France since June 27 have set fire to 2,508 buildings and 12,031 cars, and 3,505 people, mostly young people, have been arrested on suspicion of involvement in these crimes, the French executive announced today.
The numbers were made known by the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, in an intervention in the Senate (upper house of the French parliament), in which he stressed that, although in recent nights the altercations have decreased a lot, “it is quite difficult to know what will happen in the next days”
Darmanin explained that the security forces registered 23,178 fires in the street and that of all the buildings burned, 273 were National or Municipal Police stations and headquarters of the Gendarmerie (militarized guard).
The minister referred that the average age of those detained during the riots is 17-18 years old, with the youngest being 11 and the oldest 59, and that only 10% are foreigners and 60% have no judicial or police record.
According to figures communicated by the spokesman for the Government, Olivier Véran, at the end of the Council of Ministers, until Tuesday, of all the detainees, 990 had already been presented to a magistrate with a view to possible prosecution and 480 cases had been initiated. for immediate court appearance.
After these trials, to which minors cannot be subjected, 366 people were arrested.
At the origin of this rebellion is the death on June 27th of a 17-year-old minor from a shot fired by a police officer when he was trying to evade a police checkpoint at the wheel of a car for which he did not have a driving licence. driving.
The interior minister reiterated the idea that this agent, a 38-year-old brigadier with several decorations, “did not respect the 2017 law” which, in a context marked by the wave of ‘jihadist’ attacks in France, extended the authorization of the use of weapons against those fleeing police control and could endanger the integrity of law enforcement agents or third parties.
In the face of criticism launched by a part of the French left, which called for the law to be modified on the grounds that it led to a much greater use of weapons by agents and to a record 12 deaths last year, the government official opposed it.
In his line of argument, this law has not led to an increase in the use of weapons by the security forces against those who evade controls, although these are increasing.
“The Police and the Gendarmerie do not fire more than before, but they increase those who escape control”, he declared.
Darmanin pointed out that behind the riots there is a minority that does not represent the population of sensitive neighborhoods: “At most, there were a few thousand people.”
The police officer suspected of having fatally shot the young man is accused of homicide and is in custody.
