A gunman has killed one victim and wounded five others in an outer suburb of Paris known for its migrant communities, prompting public warnings of a terror attack in the wake of violent protests.
Police arrested the alleged killer after a frenzy of drive-by shootings that left one 12-year-old girl fighting for her life.
French President Emmanuel Macron described the shootings as a “racist terrorist attack” in the areas of Trappes and Yvelines, south-west of the Paris city centre, and warned of the pressure on the nation from weeks of unrest.
Police said they were treating the attack as terrorism and were aware of reports that the killer had set traps in his home to kill visitors that he expected to investigate him after the shootings. Police also detained one of his family members.
The shootings on Friday (France time) came on the eve of another series of protests and rallies due to be held on Saturday in Paris and other cities over the cost of living and school funding.
Worried about another outbreak of violence and looting, the French government has mobilised 70,000 police to guard against rioting, while authorities in Lyon and Marseilles have banned the marches.
Authorities did not draw a direct link between the riots and the shootings, but the attack in the Paris suburbs came after a week of debate about whether migrants were among the looters who smashed stores last weekend.
Macron spoke of a “turning point in our republic and our nation” as a result of the terror attack.
Local mayor Nicolas Dainville, whose local government of La Verrière includes Yvelines, said the attack was another sign of the pressure on French unity after the protests.
“A racist motive seems clear, given that here in La Verrière three individuals of African descent were targeted,” he told Franceinfo.
“This points to a very serious situation in France, a country that is fractured and divided.
“The atmosphere we are currently living in – in which the mayors, in their own modest way, are trying to address – is truly critical.”
National police union spokesman Rudy Manna told Franceinfo the gunman fired multiple times at people walking on the street who had done nothing to provoke him.
Manna said the evidence suggested the gunman also intended to kill a police officer.
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez warned on Friday about the risk of further violence in protests on Saturday, accusing ultra-left groups of encouraging violence and looting.
More than 3000 stores were damaged or looted last weekend after protests turned violent across the country.
Police arrested 2700 people, about 70 per cent of them adults.
“We will be uncompromising with rioters, looters and all those who commit acts of violence,” Nunez told reporters on Friday after meetings with Macron and other government leaders.
Nunez said authorities had identified online calls from hard-left groups that encouraged activists to target public buildings.
“We are not talking about a nice, friendly demonstration,” he said.
“We will be extremely vigilant, extremely firm, and we will let absolutely nothing pass.”
Police have authorised a union demonstration in Paris on Saturday but have insisted it take place away from the Place de la Republique, an area that was a focal point of the riots last weekend and has been under curfew since then.
Authorities rejected requests for rallies in Paris by the main student union, UNEF, and the Yellow Vest movement, an anti-establishment force that first emerged in 2018.
Many French cities beyond Paris have also banned protests, including France’s second and third largest cities, Marseille and Lyon.
Nunez said 10,000 more police would be on the streets than a week ago.
With Reuters
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