These riots were sparked by the killing of Nahel M, a 17-year-old boy from Nanterre, a town to the west of Paris.
An only child brought up by his mother, he had been working as a takeaway delivery driver and played rugby league.
His education was described as chaotic. He was enrolled at a college in Suresnes not far from where he lived, to train to be an electrician.
Those who knew Nahel, who was of Algerian descent, said he was well-loved in Nanterre where he lived with his mother Mounia and had apparently never known his father.
His record of attendance of college was poor. He did not have a criminal record but he was known to police.
He had given his mother a big kiss before she went to work, with the words “I love you, Mum”.
The mayor of Nanterre, the town to the west of Paris where 17-year-old Nahel M was killed, said there was “great sadness and indignation” at his death.
“Today, the demand for justice dominates. The thousands of people who have expressed their anger want to be sure that justice will be done fairly,” Patrick Jarry told Le Monde.
The left-winger and former French Communist Party member said “we must continue to surround” Nahel’s mother.
“Today we are faced with a particularly dramatic episode, a very difficult moment, which will force us to reflect on the conditions of intervention by the police… such as those which intervened on Tuesday morning by making use of their weapons against a teenager, in total violation of all legal provisions,” he added.
Video footage has emerged from Marseille, where some of the worst of Friday night’s rioting took place.
It shows protesters throwing fireworks at police, and pushing a rubbish skip out onto the street and setting fire to it.
Police reinforcements were sent to the city to help deal with the violence, after a request from city Mayor Benoit Payan.
(News Agencies)
