More than 870 people have been detained in France overnight as a result of violent protests, which erupted after police shot dead a 17-year-old teenager during a traffic stop, the BFMTV broadcaster reported on Friday, citing law enforcement agencies.
According to law enforcement agencies, 875 people have been detained, including 408 in the area of the prefecture of the Paris police, the broadcaster said.
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said earlier in the day that over 660 people were detained overnight.
Against this background, French President Emmanuel Macron left the EU summit in Brussels on Friday and canceled his press conference as he was heading to a government meeting on the ongoing unrest in France.
Earlier on Friday, French Minister Delegate for the City and Housing Olivier Klein revealed that the French authorities do not exclude the introduction of a state of emergency due to the unrest.
According to local news outlet, over the past days the French capital has also been damaged, with the rioters looting at least two stores. In the city of Nantes, the protesters also tried to ram a Lidl supermarket using a car, the report said.
Moreover, in the city of Grenoble, demonstrators fired pyrotechnic devices at several buses, forcing employees to stop the operation of public transport, French media reported.
To deal with the protests in the Old Port of Marseille, the police were forced to use tear gas, dispersing not only the rioters, but tourists as well.
The authorities of the southeast-central French region of Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes decided introduce a number of restrictive measures to ensure public safety amid the ongoing unrest.
According to reports, citing France's Interior Ministry, nearly 250 law enforcement officers were injured during the overnight clashes with protesters.
In the neighboring Belgium the presence of police on the streets of its capital Brussels has increased amid social media calls for protests.
During raids, the police search young people who look suspicious but release most of them after document checks, Sputnik correspondent has reported.
A police officer, who was surrounded by people on a street, explained that young people were being checked for torches and incendiary mixtures. The authorities fear a repeat of events in France, where riots have continued for two days.
Local news agency reported that the Brussels police detained ten people for organizing a riot. Protesters clashed with police officers near the Gare du Midi train station in Brussels, having thrown cobblestones at officers, provoked fights and set a car on fire.
On Tuesday, a 17-year-old boy was fatally shot dead by a police officer in Nanterre during a traffic check. Media reported that the boy was driving a rental car and broke several traffic rules. On Thursday, a protest march in memory of the killed teenager took place in the prefecture. The demonstration soon escalated into violent clashes between radicals and the police.
French President Emmanuel Macron said that the shooting was "inexplicable and inexcusable," but also slammed the violent protests in the country as "unjustifiable" and called for calm.