Looters break into gun shop as 1,300 arrested in France riots

Looters broke into a gun shop in Marseille, while more than a thousand arrests were made across France as riots continued for a fourth night.

Violent protests spread throughout the country after a 17-year-old, named as Nahel Merzouk, was shot by police during a traffic stop in the Paris suburb of Nanterre on Tuesday.

In the aftermath, people have taken to the streets on four consecutive nights to protest, setting cars alight, throwing stones and fireworks, and ransacking shops.

The French interior ministry said 1,311 people were arrested and 79 police officers were injured overnight.

However, they say last night’s violence was “of a lower intensity in comparison with the night before”.

Police said looters broke into a shop selling guns in the city and ran off with several hunting rifles. One person was arrested nearby with one of the weapons, officers said.

Social media images showed an explosion rocking Marseille’s old port area. City authorities said they were investigating the cause but did not believe there were any casualties.

READ ALSO: Breaking: Many injured as explosion rocks Paris

The mayor of the city, Benoit Payan, has called for the national government to send additional troops to the city, describing scenes of unacceptable “pillaging and violence”.

In a message to fire and police forces, Interior Minister Darmanin said: “The next hours will be decisive and I know I can count on your flawless efforts.”

He added that 45,000 extra police officers, including paramilitary gendarmes, had been deployed across France on Friday – 5,000 more than the previous night and that though the level of violence was “unacceptable” the country was not yet at the point where the government felt it needed to declare a state of emergency.

Clashes were reported in several other cities, including Lyon in the southeast.

There was also looting reported earlier in Strasbourg in broad daylight, including from an Apple store and several supermarkets.

In central Paris, police removed a group of protesters from the Place de la Concorde, while fires were started in other parts of the capital.

French football superstar, Kylian Mbappe, who previously described Nahel’s death as an “unacceptable situation”, appealed for calm.

He wrote on Twitter: “Violence solves nothing… There are other peaceful and constructive ways to express yourself. It is in this that our energies and our thoughts must be concentrated.

“The time of violence must end to give way to that of mourning, dialogue and reconstruction.”

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