via: sansnom Translated by Act for freedom now!
here:First night of riot ,after police assassination of Nahel (Hauts-de-Seine) on 27th of June.2023
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[This second night of riot in a row after that of yesterday following the police assassination of Nahel (Hauts-de-Seine) on 27th June, expanded to many more cities, multiplying also the number and type of targets.. Beyond clashes with police and burnt cars, below is a non-exhaustive review of burned buildings, looted or attacked across the country, from cop stations to town halls, from social centres to media libraries, from supermarkets to metro stations and trams, not forgetting the entrance of the prison of Fresnes or the court of Asnières-sur-Seine…]
Some numbers
2377 fires were recorded on the public road during the night of 28 to 29 June, according to a police source cited by Le Parisien. Of these, 609 vehicles and 114 buildings were affected. 27 attacks on national police 
premises were also reported (damong which 7 by fire), 4 gendarmerie barracks, 14 municipal police stations (including 10 burnt). At least eight town halls burned or damaged, 6 schools and six public buildings. 133 members of the police forces were injured, including 123 policemen and 10 gendarmes.
For pleasure…
* Airparif writes this Thursday that « significant levels of particulate matter (PM10 + PM2.5) were observed in the air tonight and this morning » in Île-de-France, and that this « increase in the region is mainly related to emissions related to riots». This kind of pollution can be due to the many fires that took place at night.
Public transport in Ile-de-France
Two trams were burned in the Hauts-de-Seine. One of line T6 to Clamart, at the Georges Pompidou stop. « The catenaries burned, the tram is embedded in the tracks. We’re going to disengage the train this afternoon (Thursday) but the work will take weeks», explained a manager. The other train that was set on fire was the T10 tram, which had just been inaugurated last Saturday at Châtenay-Malabry.
In addition, 11 buses were burned in all l’Île-de-France, three of them in Seine-Saint-Denis and at Viry-Chatillon, at the Fournil junction. « About 15 people got on the bus, took everyone out and then set the vehicle on fire», relates the mayor. Then they went into the street to set fire to several garbage cans».
Clamart (Hauts-de-Seine), night from 28 to 29 June 2023 : the tramline T6.
Bourgogne Franche-Comté
Montbéliard (Doubs), night from 28 to 29 June 2023 : engins of the construction site of the HLM Neolia company.
* Doubs. Events of urban violence took place in the night from Wednesday to Thursday in Montbéliard, in Valentigney, in Audincourt and, to a lesser degree, in Besançon and Pontarlier. In Montbéliard, in the city of Princes, rue Mozart, three vehicles were set on fire on a construction site managed by the HLM Néolia. The damage to this disaster is estimated at more than one million euros. Consequences: the site is at a standstill.
Grand-Est
Nancy (Meurthe-et-Moselle) night from 28 to 29 June 2023 : the town hall in the Haut-du-Lièvre district smells of burning
* Nancy (Meurthe-et-Moselle) : The police were targeted in the neighbourhood of Haut-du-Lièvre in Nancy during the night. One or more incendiary objects were thrown, notably against the national police station.
At Mont-Saint-Martin, the library was burned down, the kindergarten was damaged and several vehicles were burned. Anatole-France College was also affected, and, above all, the local branch of the special education and home help service (Sessad).
Schiltigheim (Alsace), night from 28 to 29 June 2023 : 17 cars in the parking lot of Leclerc burnt
* Strasbourg (Alsace) : several districts of Strasbourg were the scene of urban violence in the night of Wednesday 28 to Thursday 29 June: 66 cars were burnt out, 17 in the Leclerc Hypermarket parking in Schiltigheim, in the Écrivains [Writers] district.
Sud-ouest
Lormont (Gironde, night from 28 to 29 June : in this suburb of Bordeaux, the Citizen Space housing municipal services was reduced to ashes during the night.
A Lormont (Gironde), the first tensions started around 23 hours in the neighbourhood of Génicart in particular, where several garbage bins and street furniture were set ablaze on the roads to block traffic. A little further, vehicles were set on fire behind the primary school Albert Camus. But the most impressive images are those of the Citizen Space fire, a municipal building housed in the imposing Chateau Génicart, which caught fire around midnight, and whose flames were several metres high. Between 2 and 3 o’clock in the morning, several dozen individuals, rather young according to the mayor, invaded the site to vandalize and set fire to it. « It will take two or three years before it reopens », the mayor Jean Touzeau predicts wearily.
Bordeaux (Gironde, night from 28 to 29 June : the relay car park of the Aubiers tram station is reduced to ashes.
In Bordeaux itself, several infrastructures have been degraded, including the Aubiers and Grand Parc tram stations as well as the nearby bus stops and the Aubiers relay parking. Street furniture was also hit and garbage can fires lit in the La Benauge district, on the right bank of Bordeaux.
Concerning the relais-parking-relais of Aubiers, « the reception lodge was set on fire and major damage done to the operating equipment », announced Keolis. The relais-parking Aubiers « is now closed for an interminable period of time, while appraisals and repairs are carried out ».
Nord
Amiens (Somme), night of 28 to 29 June: two buses reduced to ashes
Amiens (Somme), night of 28 to 29 June: the premises of the insertion association
Amiens (Somme), night from 28 to 29 June : and the media library under construction…
Several degradations took place in Amiens (Somme) that night. A media library under construction was burned.
The President of the Department deplores the long list of public buildings and private property destroyed in this city: « It is with shock and emotion that we note, this Thursday, the damage of a night of extreme violence in several neighbourhoods of Amiens. Several public buildings were the target of arson: the North Atrium area town hall, the youth entertainment centre L’Odyssée, part of the Nautilus swimming pool, the gymnasium that housed the French boxing club or the future West media library, important project for the Etouvie district, which was about to be built. Businesses have been degraded. Several vehicles, buses, cars, and the premises of Synapse 3I, an integration association supported by the Somme County Council, were also burned down. » Two buses were also set on fire, one of which was still smoking near Place du Colvert on Thursday morning.
Wattrelos (North), night of 28 to 29 June: the Mousserie social centre closes its doors for good.
In the North, the public facilities of Wattrelos were particularly targeted by the rioters, on the night of Wednesday to Thursday. The first point of tension was the social centre of the Mousserie, closed since the beginning of the year due to cracks. It was completely ravaged by the flames. While the firefighters were fighting the fire, around 3:00 a.m., they were taken to task by a gang of young people, who threw projectiles at them and targeted them and their vehicles with fireworks mortars.
Wattrelos (Nord), night from 28 to 29 June : looting of Lidl which was then set on fire.
After this aborted intervention, the displacement of the soldiers of the fire was then calculated in hundreds of metres: a few steps, the Lidl store, boulevard des Couteaux, was completely destroyed by the flames, not without having been looted beforehand. Around 4 a.m., firefighters (from all over Lille) were still trying to put out the fire on two large ladders. From this hard-discount store, inaugurated in 2016 on the road linking Wattrelos to Tourcoing, there is nothing left but a pile of sheet metal and melted glass.
Another Lidl supermarket in Roubaix was looted. Two adjoining town halls were sackaged in Roubaix. In Tourcoing, a school was set on fire, banks were targeted.
Mons-en-Barœul (Nord), night of 28 to 29 June : city hall set on fire (above and below)
In Mons-en-Barœul (Nord), several public buildings, including the city hall, were set ablaze. Around 11 p.m., a large number of individuals attacked the the dance hall of the city hall. The damage is considerable according to Mayor Rudy Elegeest: They smashed the windows, broke down the doors. In the town hall, I had municipal police officers there. They had to take refuge, hide from becoming a victim of these acts. Around 12:30, we managed to get the officers, who had been very brave, out of the burning building. » Also according to the mayor of the municipality, the individuals left the place by shooting a final bunch of fireworks mortars.
Lille (Nord), night from 28 to 29 June: fire at the entrance of the metro station.
Finally, in Lille, the entrance to the metro station (Porte de Douai) was set on fire. The damage is very significant and “the extent of the repair work is being assessed,” says Ilévia, who says the station will remain temporarily closed.
The municipal police station on Rue Frédéric-Mottez is also one of the damaged buildings. A window was broken. On social media, a video shows a group of individuals breaking it and then launching a burning object into the building.
Centre/Rhône-Alpes
The city of Limoges (Haute-Vienne) was not spared violence and degradation during the night of Wednesday to Thursday. The Beaubreuil neighbourhood’s town hall was attacked with Molotov cocktails. The premises burned to the ground. Numerous fires have occurred in several areas of the city. An empty school bus parked in the Renoir High School area was also targeted.
Décines-Charpieu (Rhônes), night of 28 to 29 June: town hall was hot.
Lyon (Rhône) and its metropolis were also affected by urban violence during the night of Wednesday 28 to Thursday 29 June. In the 8th arrondissement, the city hall was the target of a arson attack.
In Décines, the town hall was partially burned down around 4am. Three lobbies were lit by individuals dressed in black and whose faces were concealed. The building was blackened by the flames, damage to the interior is deplorable. The archive room was almost burned to the ground. A “Justice for Nahel” tag was inscribed on the front of the building. Four cars were also destroyed in the parking lot of the site. The town hall will remain closed this Thursday morning for investigation purposes and time for cleaning.
In Vaulx-en-Velin around midnight, the door of the municipal police station, located on Jules-Romans Street, was damaged and a police vehicle was partially burnt. Around 1:30, a group entered the new media library of the Mas du Taureau. The individuals damaged the metal curtain as well as the door and lobby. In parallel, a gendarmerie vehicle was the target of fireworks mortars, the car went up in flames.
West
Rouen (Seine-Maitime), night of 28 to 29 June:fire of the police station of the Châtelet district
In Rouen (Seine-Maritime), several videos posted on social networks show a fire burning in front of the police station in the Châtelet district, located on the heights of the city. The adjoining district town hall was burned down, and the house of justice and law as well as the CCAS, located in the town hal premises, cannot open this morning.
Le Havre (Seine-Maritime), night of 28 to 29 June: La Poste has also been gone over
In Le Havre, in the Caucriauville district, violence was committed. As a result, the post office was damaged and a local tobacco shop was looted, the prefecture notes.
Brest (Finistère), night of 28 to 29 June: the Biocoop store counts its ruins Brest (Finistère), night of 28 to 29 June:
and the Fiat dealer counts its carcasses
In Brest (Finistère), the Biocoop Kerbio Europe store in the Pontanézen district was partly burned down. Vehicles in the adjacent parking lot were also burned. Several cars in the Fiat dealership were also burned.
Laval (Mayenne), night of June 28 to 29: McDonalds after the rioters
In Laval (Mayenne), several businesses in the Saint-Nicolas neighbourhood were targeted. McDonald’s Restaurant was destroyed by fire and a Conforama store looted. From 2:30 in the morning at the Fourches, damage and arson targeted the neighbourhood hall, an annex and the aired centre Planète môme, which was practically destroyed. The situation calmed down at around 5:00.
Alençon (Orne), night from 28 to 29 June ; some hard work against the association ATMPO (Association Tutelary des Majeurs Protégés de l’Orne)
In Alençon (Orne), the Perseigne district also had a night of violence. The offices of the association ATMPO (Association Tutélaire des Majeurs Protégés de l’Orne) [Association of guardianship of protected adults] were particularly targeted. The building, located on Winston Churchill Avenue, was looted, ransacked and burned. A dozen of the association’s service cars were burned, and some were moved under the porch of the building so that the fire spread to the building.
Windows of the Paul Gauguin Social Centre, whose walls are covered with tags, were destroyed. Part of the Peace Hall was also vandalized and burned.
Vernon (Eure), night of 28 to 29 June : it was the turn of the Mission building…
A Vernon (Eure), The night was marked by arson, especially at the premises of the local Mission and the Alfa training centre.
Ile-de-France
Neuilly-sur-Marne (Seine-Saint-Denis), night of 28 to 29 June 2023. The seven city police cars at dawn.
Seine-Saint-Denis
At Neuilly-sur-Marne (Seine-Saint-Denis), Seven cars, the entire municipal police fleet, were burned in Place François-Mitterrand. The vehicles were parked at the foot of the city housing building, and the fire spread to the ground floor.
In the Fauvettes district, windows of the media library were broken and a fire broke out. The day before, the André-Chenier nursery school had also been vandalized, but the children were able to go back to school this Thursday morning. « It is the most essential services that have been targeted, education with the school, the social with the housing service and culture with the media library, regrets Mayor Zartoshte Bakhtiari (DVD). It is the very essence of public service and the Republic that has now been struck. »
Romainville (Seine-Saint-Denis), night of 28 to 29 June 2023.
Bagnolet (Seine-Saint-Denis), night of 28 to 29 June 2023: the police station
Elsewhere in the department, the town hall of L’Île-Saint-Denis was damaged by a fire. When the mayor returned home around 1:30 a.m., the streets of L’Île-Saint-Denis were empty and he thought he had avoided the worst. A phone call from the Prefect of Seine-Saint-Denis took him out of his bed around 3:45 am. « Mr Mayor, your town hall is burning », Jacques Witkowski informed. The ground floor rooms were completely destroyed by fire. The City Hall will remain closed until further notice.
L’Île-Saint-Denis (Seine-Saint-Denis), night of 28 to 29 June 2023: the entrance to the town hall has gone up in flames.
In Romainville, the town hall was also damaged, and the departmental crèche located in the Yuri-Gagarin district was partly damaged by fire.
* Val-de-Marne
Fresnes (Val-de-Marne), night of 28 to 29 June 2023 : traces of the attack on the prison entrance
The security post at the entrance to the prison of Fresnes (Val-de-Marne) was attacked by about 20 young hooded people, with fireworks mortars and various projectiles. An alarm went off during the attack. Fires were also started on the street leading to the prison. Around 4 am, CRS were finally deployed in the vicinity of the prison. Meanwhile, «between 150 and 200» officers had been deployed by the management of the penitentiary centre in order to avoid intrusions and above all to prevent any escape attempts.
Fresnes (Val-de-Marne), night of 28 to 29 June 2023. The entrance of the police station burnt, the premises are unusable.
In Fresnes, the station’s antenna was also set on fire. The premises were damaged to the point of being unusable by the officials, who were repatriated to the police station of L’Haÿ-les-Roses. This investigation and that of the Cachan police station, whose facade and door were heavily damaged by the arson of a car, were seized by the judicial police.
Villeneuve-le-Roi (Val-de-Marne), night of 28 to 29 June 2023: the Town Hall set on fire. All the CCAS on the ground floor is destroyed, as well as many offices, 90% of the building.
In Val-de-Marne, several were also attacked: Valenton, La Queue-en-Brie, Gentilly, L’Haÿ-les-Roses, but especially Villeneuve-le-Roi, which pays the heaviest price. Around 1h30 in the morning, some individuals enter the city hall. The guard quickly gives the alarm but the rioters have time to seize the cobblestones and throw them against the windows of the building. The double glazing reinforced to protect from the noise of the planes of Orly airport does not resist. “Then they threw Molotov cocktails on the ground floor, which is home to our communal social action centre (CCAS),” said Mayor Didier Gonzales (LR).The fire, not very extensive, is extinguished without difficulty. « But seeing that their damage was not significant enough, they returned an hour later, around 2:30. And this time, there were almost forty of them, continues the elected one. Our two agents present, who were finishing cleaning and repairing the damage, were threatened with pickaxe handles. They could do nothing to stop them. » The evildoers set fire to different parts of the city hall. The flames spread quickly. The smoke invaded the entire ground floor, then reached the first floor and the roof.
The damage is significant: « According to the firefighters, 90% of the building is unusable. The CCAS is destroyed, many offices on the floors also like that of my general manager of services, an assistant, etc. The zinc roof has melted. We lost models of the city, documents, furniture… There is just a shell left, » the mayor said.
In Villejuif, the Esselières Examination/Congress Centre was partially burned down. The damage is considered significant. There is « no guarantee » that the venue will continue to be open to the public in the coming days, the municipality regrets. The Esselières are a site that welcomes students in examination, public meetings, forums for employment, etc.
* Seine-et-Marne
Réau (Seine-et-Marne), night of 28 to 29 June 2023. : the screws cars in flames in the jail parking lot.
FO Justice union press release, June 29: » During the night multiple violent acts have affected our institutions. Indeed, several prisons have been attacked by individuals. An intrusion took place into the grounds of the Prison Centre of Réau. Several vehicles were set on fire in the parking lot of the staff [that’s to say the screws]. At this point, we don’t know if this is due to the Nanterre event. »
Dammarie-les-Lys (Seine-et-Marne), night of 28 to 29 June 2023: the Espace Emploi and the offices of the Atelier which encourages the creation of businesses have completely burned.
In Dammarie-les-Lys, the police station was attacked around 12.15 a.m. A large rubbish bin was placed in front of the entrance to be set on fire. Instead, four police cars were set on fire. The Espace Emploi, which houses the ODE insertion association and the Atelier business creation scheme, was targeted around three in the morning. At Politzer College, the school dining room was set on fire and the Schweitzer Centre media library was vandalized.
In the north of Seine-et-Marne, eleven police cars were damaged in front of the brand new police station in Torcy. About 50 assailants were on the scene. One of the building’s doors was damaged. Three people were taken into custody. Also in the north of the department, the buildings of the municipal police of Bussy-Saint-Georges and Roissy-en-Brie were targeted.
Savigny-le-Temple (Seine-et-Marne), night of 28 to 29 June: looting of the Diagonal supermarket
In Savigny-le-Temple, the Diagonal supermarket was literally pillaged. And four municipal police cars were set on fire. Other destructions concern the town hall of Nandy, the municipal police of Melun (the Montaigu district was particularly affected) and Moissy-Cramayel, as well as the police station of Pontault-Combault.
Mée-sur-Seine (Seine-et-Marne), night of 28 to 29 June 2023.
Melun (Seine-et-Marne), night of 28 to 29 June: beautiful like a tanker truck…
* Essonne
Viry-Chatillon (Essonne), early evening of June 28
One of the first events recorded on Wednesday evening is the burning of a bus, place de la Treille in Viry-Chatillon. Filmed and widely shared on social media, the scene took place just a few metres from the place where, in 2016, four policemen had been attacked with Molotov cocktails. Later in the evening and at night, other buses were set on fire, notably in the Hautes-Mardelles district of Brunoy, Évry-Courcouronnes and Grigny. « About 15 people got on the bus, got everyone out and then set the vehicle on fire, the mayor said. Then they went into the street to set fire to several garbage bins. »
In Athis-Mons, a bus was stolen by rioters who then drove it briskly through the streets of the town.
In Vigneux-sur-Seine, individuals fired rifles at a video surveillance camera in the Oly plain district. Rioters also reportedly vandalized and entered the city’s McDonald’s restaurant, before emptying the tills.
In the prefecture of Évry-Courcouronnes, the damage is significant: the former neighbourhood centre of the now abandoned Parc aux Lièvres was burned down completely, as did the adjoining town hall of the Canal and the neighbourhood centre of Les Épinettes. Elsewhere in the department, the facade of the town hall of Ulis was damaged, as was the facade of an administrative building in Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois and the offices of the municipal police in Vigneux-sur-Seine. Several police stations, such as those of Évry-Courcouronnes, Ulis, Athis-Mons and Draveil were also targeted during the night.
* Val-d’Oise
Garges-lès-Gonesse (Val d’Oise), night of 28 to 29 June 2023. : the ground floor of the town hall completely ablaze
In Garges-lès-Gonesse, a fire broke out on the ground floor of the town hall, brand new, just before 2 o’clock. An area of 1,000 m2 burned. The intervention, which required two water hoses, took more than 5 hours.
Half an hour earlier, the one in Montmagny was attacked and set on fire. Between forty and sixty people gathered in front of the city hall. The band worked hard to set the building on fire. The entrance doors were broken and incendiary devices launched inside. Individuals also sprayed diesel on the shutters before attempting to set them on fire without much success. But the flames that caught inside caused extensive damage. « The entire entrance to the town hall, the reception and the office of the director general of services were destroyed », lists the mayor (LR) Patrick Floquet.
Bezons (Val d’Oise), night of 28 to 29 June 2023. : l’école Angela-Davis (ci-dessus) et le comico (ci-dessous)
In Bezons, a vehicle fire spread to the Angela-Davis school. It was basically a metal siding that was destroyed. The school group should be able to function partially. The firemen engaged 4 water lances and fought for 7h25 . The police station suffered an attempted fire, which may have been prevented by law enforcement. The glass facade of the town hall was damaged by numerous blows. A bus was set on fire just in front of it.
Damage was also noted in Argenteuil, where the Val-Notre-Dame neighbourhood centre suffered a fire. Vandalism also affected the town hall and a cultural centre in Montigny-lès-Cormeilles.
In Cergy-Pontoise very varied sites were targeted tonight. Pallets were collected and set on fire in front of the antenna of the police station on rue de l’abondance in Cergy-le-Haut, at the foot of a building. Individuals also attempted to break into the UGC cinema and flames were seen inside the lobby, but the damage caused seems to be limited.
* Hauts-de-Seine
The fire of rage spread to the entire department. The second night of violence following the death of Nahel, killed by a policeman, on Tuesday in Nanterre, differed greatly from the day before. If on Tuesday evening the violence was concentrated globally on Nanterre and the northern loop of the department (Asnières, Gennevilliers, Colombes, Villeneuve), this time it was the whole of the Hauts-de-Seine to smell the burning and the tear gas. The main target of the rioters last night was public buildings. From Montrouge to Gennevilliers via Meudon, Suresnes or Clichy, almost no municipality has escaped unscathed. This violence was not limited to the poor areas and sensitive neighbourhoods.
In Nanterre itself, a fire was lit in an Enedis centre, rue Montesquieu.
It hit a dozen response vehicles parked outside the building, in a courtyard, and spread to a few offices on the site.
Several police stations were attacked: in Suresnes, Bois-Colombes and Gennevilliers where the thick fire of fireworks sprayed several windows. In Meudon, the municipal police station was targeted, as in Villeneuve-la-Garenne the day before. In Asnières-sur-Seine, the court was set on fire.
In Meudon-la-Forêt, the priority district of Meudon and Châtenay-Malabry, assailants attacked the adjoining town halls. In their anger, the groups of rioters also set fire to construction sites: that of the media library in Clichy where the flames ravaged a part of the foundations and a building machine while in Puteaux, at the border with Nanterre, it’s a school that’s been burned. In Gennevilliers, a property developer’s “bubble” was ravaged on Debussy Street. If looting was not a feature of the night, the Manège à bijoux [Jewellery fair] of one of the Leclerc centres in Colombes was sacked.
The Asnières-sur-Seine court was also set on fire. A security guard was inside the court when about 15 young people set fire to it around 3 a.m. From the ground floor of this nearby court, there is almost nothing left. The flames ravaged everything. This tribunal will need a lot of work before it can reopen its doors, and in the meantime, temporary premises will have to be installed in Colombes.
In the field, the techniques of these small, highly mobile groups have also evolved. More efficient, more focused as evidenced by the presence of many DIY devices designed to puncture the tires of vehicles, starting with those of the police. “They put on the CRS to immobilize them and reduce their ability to move,” said an observer in Nanterre.
Scooters and motorcycles burnt out in Issy-les-Moulineaux
* Paris
In the 15th district of Paris, there have been « mortar shootings, garbage fires, cafe terraces vandalized, and video-protection cameras damaged », says Mayor LR Philippe Goujon, who condemns this violence. About 40 young people took action in the Beaugrenelle area between midnight and three o’clock in the morning.
In the Raymond-Queneau sector of the 18th arrondissement, the premises of the Bapsa, the homeless assistance brigade, was set on fire by about 30 people.
[Summary of regional & national pressure, 29 June 2023]
Aulnay-sous-Bois, 29 juin 2023. Supermarkets Lidl and Aldi in the north of the town were looted during the night.
« They’ve taken everything »: supermarkets looted on the margins
of the night of urban violence
Le Parisien, 29 June 2023
On the sidelines of a second night of violence following the death of a teenager in Nanterre (Hauts-de-Seine), killed by a policeman on Tuesday morning following a refusal to comply, several supermarkets in Seine-Saint-Denis but also Yvelines, Seine-et-Marne and Val-de Marne—a Lidl supermarket was looted in Vitry—was the scene of theft and damage in Île-de-France.
As if dazed, the inhabitants of the Rose-des-Vents district in Aulnay-sous-Bois (Seine-Saint-Denis) which inevitably stop in front of the entrance of «their» Aldi this Thursday morning. The door is open, but the store is closed. On the ground, soda cans, bottles of olive oil and various packaging bear witness to the night’s looting. A man in shorts walks towards this cluster, picks up a pack of beers and walks away Inside, a guard observes the scene without flinching.
In Aulnay-sous-Bois, the Lidl near the Europe roundabout, still in the north of the city, was also the victim of looters. « They took everything: robots for 500 euros, clothes, even alcohol », lists a security guard. Around 11 o’clock, police were on site to see the damage.
A few hundred metres away, at the entrance to the Aldi, the confusion led to a dispute of consternation and anger. The atmosphere contrasts with that prevailing a little over a year ago, when the supermarket of the German hard-discount brand opened its doors, nearly two years after the closure of the only large place in the neighbourhood.
In the face of the chaos, a woman explodes her « I’m fed up »: « It’s shameful! It’s a catastrophe! I am disgusted. » And she vows to “demand to leave” the Rose-des-Vents.
« They’ve done their shopping»
Who’s to blame? While a group of residents take pictures or film the damage at the store’s doorstep, a man and a woman engage in conversation. « It is the adults who are responsible the first states. At some point, they have to wake up!» Her interlocutor is offended: Stop talking rubbish! Some parents have authority, others don’t. Some children even hit their parents. »
At Trappes (Yvelines), it was the turn of the Carrefour Market to be targeted. The supermarket, situated in the heart of the Merisiers, was not protected by its iron shutter. And dozens of young people have emptied and sacked the shelves of this food store, mainly frequented by families in the neighbourhood. Having come to see the damage this Thursday morning, the store management did not wish to comment. Like the locals, they look at young people whose presence dissuades them from expressing themselves.
In Romainville (Seine-Saint-Denis), a woman in shorts, cigarette in the corner of her mouth, moves away from the Aldi store of Montreuil road shouting: « Who cares about the stuff ? It’s a child who is dead, a child! » Behind her, a few passers-by press against the store door, also looted at night. The neighbours say they are « shocked » in the face of this demonstration of violence, broken windows, cardboard boxes spread over the ground. The events took place between 2 and 4 o’clock. Two cars were burnt outside the store.
With a look of dismay, a store employee wanders among the shelves. « A neighbour told me he saw people going out with pampers, stuff like that. They’ve done their shopping, sighs an old lady from the neighbourhood. But those who work here, they need jobs, it’s not easy for them. »
The only store in the devastated neighbourhood
A pensioner also lingers in front of the storefront. Next door neighbour to the discount store, he was awakened in the night and thought of fireworks of young people wanting to have fun. « I had no idea it was war, he said. I don’t know what that has to do with Nanterre (looting a store) but good, they take advantage. »
According to several residents, by targeting Aldi, the looters attacked the only store in the neighbourhood. « I’m handicapped, the neighbour continues, pointing to his legs. It was easy for me to get here. Now we have nothing. »