More than 700 arrested in nighttime riots in France

At least 719 people were arrested overnight in France, on the fifth day of urban violence caused by the death of a young man shot by the police, according to a report by the French Ministry of the Interior this Sunday (07.02.2023).

At least 45 police officers and gendarmes were injured and 577 vehicles and 74 buildings were set on fire, said the ministry statement, which also reported 871 fires in the street.

The previous balance, published to 01:30 CET (Central European Time) on Sunday, reported 322 detainees.

In addition, 10 police stations, 10 gendarmerie barracks and 6 municipal police stations were attacked, the ministry said.

Marseille and Lyon were the two cities most affected by the violence, as the day before, a police source told AFP.

France is experiencing a wave of urban violence unleashed by the death of Nahel, a 17-year-old boy, who died on Tuesday after being shot by a policeman during a traffic control.

Brussels arrests

A total of 35 people were arrested in Brussels on Saturday night in rallies in the Belgian capital to protest the death of the young Nahel in Nanterre (France) at the hands of the police last Tuesday when he tried to flee from a roadblock.

According to the Belgian news agency, the Brussels-Ixelles police made 35 administrative arrests, after calls for new demonstrations were published on social networks.

The attendees gathered near a square in the Belgian capital and, according to Belga, they would have been urged to disturb public order.