Paris [France], March 19: The Paris Prefect of police, Laurent Nuñez, has ordered the mobilization of additional forces after dozens of young people attacked a police station in a Paris suburb following the death of an 18-year-old during a police pursuit.
From midday on Monday, another 100 police officers were expected to arrive in the La Courneuve suburb to prevent further clashes, Nuñez told broadcaster BFMTV.
It comes after some 50 young people attacked the police station with fireworks and Molotov cocktails late on Sunday evening, after an 18-year-old on a scooter was rammed head-on by a police car and fatally injured in the Aubervilliers suburbs in north-eastern Paris on Wednesday evening.
Rubbish bins were also set on fire during the attack on the station, BFMTV and the newspaper Le Parisien reported, citing the police.
Two officers were injured and nine people, including two minors, according to the prefect.
The attack on the station was related to the death of the 18-year-old, Nuñez confirmed, adding that the attackers were from the same district as the victim.
In addition, threats to the police had been sprayed on walls in recent days, BFMTV said, quoting the police.
Calls are said to have circulated on social media to avenge the teen's death.
The young man and a passenger are said to have first ignored a police traffic control and had then run red lights as a police car pursued them.
Police say the scooter collided head-on with an oncoming police car, called in for backup, after the car had to swerve to avoid a taxi.
While the Paris police prefect has so far seen no reason to doubt the officers' account, relatives of the 18-year-old accuse the police of premeditation.
The case is reminiscent of the death of a 17-year-old during a police traffic check near Paris last June. This was followed by protests against police violence and serious riots that shook France for nights on end and caused millions of dollars in damage.
Source: Qatar Tribune
