China says tourists injured in French riots

The Chinese Consulate General in Marseilles filed a formal complaint with France over the attack on a bus carrying Chinese tourists, Beijing urged Paris to ensure the safety of its citizens and their property, writes Reuters, citing a statement from the Consulate General.

According to the state broadcaster CCTV, the incident in the south of France occurred on Thursday, June 29. In France, then the second day there were riots against the backdrop of how on June 27 in the Parisian suburb of Nanterre, a policeman shot dead a teenager with Algerian and Moroccan roots.

Protesters in Marseille smashed the windows of a bus carrying a Chinese tour group, causing minor injuries to passengers, the Consulate General said. They also urged Chinese citizens in France to be careful in connection with the unrest.

Mass riots began in France after a police officer shot and killed a 17-year-old youth with Algerian and Moroccan roots named Nael M in the Parisian suburb of Nanterre on June 27. According to law enforcement agencies, the young man did not obey the demand of the traffic patrol to stop, he already had several convictions . According to Reuters, the young man was stopped after he was moving his car along the bus lane, after which he again tried to hide from the police.

The incident sparked a wave of protests. Riots swept most of the country’s major cities, including Marseille, Lyon, Strasbourg, Lille and Paris. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, on the night of July 1-2, 45,000 police and gendarmes, as well as thousands of firefighters, were mobilized throughout the country. Every day, French authorities report hundreds of detainees across the country.