By Wafaa ESSALHI, Alexandre HIELARD
PARIS, March 18, 2024 (AFP) – Security forces deployed in numbers in a Paris suburb on Monday following an attack on a police station near major venues for this summer’s Paris Olympics.
The Sunday evening attack in the northern suburb of La Courneuve came days after a teenager riding a moped was killed in a car chase with police, echoing a June killing that triggered days-long riots.
“Around 50 people attacked the police station in La Courneuve, mostly with mortar fireworks,” Paris police chief Laurent Nunez said.
Nine people were arrested over the attack, he said.
Videos posted on social media showed groups of people firing a barrage of fireworks at the building’s facade. Police said the attackers also threw stones and Molotov cocktails.
After calling for backup, police responded with sting-ball grenades, teargas and flash-ball projectiles, used by riot police as an alternative to firearms. The standoff lasted for about 30 minutes, Nunez said.
The police station suffered no damage.
La Courneuve is located in Paris’s northern suburbs, in the Seine-Saint-Denis department that hosts Olympic venues including the flagship Stade de France stadium.
“We can tie this attack to the death” of the 18-year-old killed on Wednesday, named only as Wanys R., Nunez said.
“The young people clearly came from the neighbourhood” where Wanys lived, he added.
“We did this to demand justice for Wanys,” one young man told AFP on Monday. He declined to give his name, as did several other residents who came forward.
Nunz said the arrested suspects included seven adults aged 18-21 and two minors.
Two police officers were “slightly hurt”, he added.
– Struck by police car –
Nunez said police reinforcements would be deployed in the area.
Police would not allow “urban violence” to spread, he said.
Courneuve’s mayor, Gilles Poux, told reporters that “what we need for calm to return is transparency” about what exactly happened on Wednesday when Wanys R. was chased by police after refusing to stop for a check.
A video widely shared online showed how his scooter was struck by a police car, killing him and injuring his passenger.
The lawyer representing Wanys’ family on Friday accused the police of hitting him on purpose, while the officers’ own representative insisted it was an accident.
Poux said the young man’s family was “totally devastated” by his death, but had also expressed the wish that any further violence should be avoided.
Residents told AFP that they condemned the attack on the police station.
“The Olympics aren’t our concern but this gives us a bad reputation and that’s not good for business,” said a local grocery shop owner.
“It’s sad to lose a child but don’t take it out on the neighbourhood,” said Anissa, another resident.
“It’s stupid to destroy our neighbourhood. We’ll be left with nothing,” she said.
In June, a video of a police officer shooting dead 17-year-old Nahel M. triggered nights of riots in gritty Paris suburbs and other deprived areas.
The policeman who fired the fatal shot has been charged with voluntary homicide.