France has lost a 24-year-old firefighter during a sixth night of unrest.
The firefighter passed away on Sunday night while responding to a multiple-vehicle fire in an underground parking garage in Saint-Denis, according to Interior Minister Gerard Darmanin.
The 24-year-old Corporal-Chief of the Paris Fire Brigade passed away after receiving very quick care from his coworkers, according to his statement, which was translated from French on Twitter.
“All my heartfelt condolences to his family, friends, fellow soldiers, and the BSPP (Paris Fire Brigade).”
The number of people arrested yesterday dropped dramatically after the grandmother of a teenager shot by a police officer called for peace.
There have been riots across France following the shooting of 17-year-old Nahel Merzouk on Tuesday morning.
45,000 police officers have been deployed across Paris and other major cities, with curfews in place and the subway system closing early.
The number of arrests on Sunday has been revised up, from 78 to 150 – which is still a huge decrease compared to the 719 arrests on Saturday and 1,300 on Friday.
Yesterday Nahel’s grandmother Nadia spoke to French news channel BFM and said: ‘I want it to stop everywhere.
‘The people who are destroying, I tell them stop! Let them not destroy the schools, the buses.’
Speaking of the devastating impact of the past week on her family, Nadia said she is ‘tired’, adding: ‘It’s over, my daughter no longer has a life.’
The huge number of officers were once again deployed following the attack on the home of L’Hay-les-Roses mayor Vincent Jeanbrun in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Mr Jeanbrun described the attack as an ‘assassination attempt’, adding that his wife and one of his two children were injured after a burning car was driven into his house.
Skirmishes erupted in the Mediterranean city of Marseille on Sunday, but appeared less intense than the night before, according to the interior ministry.
President Emmanuel Macron chaired a special security meeting yesterday as the protests continued for a sixth day.
An official at the meeting said Mr Macron plans to meet with the leaders of both houses of parliament today, followed by discussions with mayors in the 220 towns and cities affected by the protests.
He also wants to start a detailed, longer-term assessment of the reasons that led to the unrest – which exposed deep-seated discontent in low-income neighbourhoods.
Mr Macron delayed the start of the first state visit to Germany in 23 years due to the ongoing violence.