The fifth consecutive night of revolt in France recorded a relative decrease in intensity, although there were very serious episodes and the police, who again made a spectacular display, made almost 500 arrests.
In Marseille and Lyon, the cities most affected by the riots on Friday night, there continued to be incidents and looting, but the massive presence of law enforcement officers with armored vehicles and the overflight of helicopters was noted. There was also violence in Paris, Nice, Grenoble, Brest and other cities.
The attack that took place against the private home of the mayor of L’Haÿ-les-Roses -on the southern outskirts of Paris-, Vincent Jeanbrun, of the conservative party Los Republicanos (LR), caused a great impact. During the early morning, some individuals drove a vehicle into the house and set it on fire. The mayor was in the Town Hall, protected by concrete barriers and barbed wire, but his wife and two children, ages 5 and 7, were sleeping in the house. In their flight from the house, they were attacked by fireworks. The woman was injured in the leg when she fell and she ended up in the hospital.
Jeanbrun denounced “an assassination attempt” and expressed his dismay at what happened. It is not the first time that the municipal facilities of this town, famous for its rose garden, have suffered attacks. The harassment against local politicians and French deputies predates the current revolt. In the case of L’Haÿ-les-Roses it was a conservative mayor. In other places they are local left-wing leaders who are under attack by far-right elements in retaliation for their policy of solidarity with immigrants and asylum seekers. These are always expressions of the tense climate that exists in the country.
In Paris there was tension all night on the Champs-Élysées after, through social networks, a spontaneous demonstration was called there. Taken over by riot police, they spent hours evicting people. Almost 200 arrests were made in the capital.
