OMON on a motorcycle guard the area in front of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris Photo: Shutterstock
Collection for the French policeman who provoked nationwide riots by shooting teenager, on Monday exceeded 1 million euros, much less than donations to the victim's family.
More than 40,000 people have donated money to an online appeal created by a far-right media commentator at Gofundme.com.
This is much more than the €200,000 raised for the family of the deceased, 17-year-old Nahel, who was originally from North Africa.Nahel's grandmother, Nadia, said she was «heartbroken» by the support. for a policeman.
“He took the life of my grandson. This man has to pay like everyone else,” she told BFM television on Sunday. “I trust the justice system. I believe in justice.»
This comes amid signs that French citizens are fighting rioters as the protests that rocked the country appear to be fading after days of unrest.
Mothers and teachers have formed vigilante groups to protect French cities from rioters.
On Monday, French mayors called on the public and elected officials to hold rallies at city halls to counter protests in which rioters looted shops, set cars on fire and attacked public buildings.
The country's association of mayors said in a statement that republican symbols have been the target of «extreme violence» throughout France, calling for a «mobilization of the citizens» to return to order.
Large crowds of people have gathered since noon at the town hall in Chambéry , Cannes, Rennes and the Parisian suburb of L'Ay-le-Rose, where rioters crashed into the mayor's house and set it on fire on Saturday night.
In some areas, groups have already taken matters into their own hands, trying to put an end to the unrest, and tens of thousands of police and gendarmes are already sent every night to cities across the country.
< p>In the Parisian suburb of Neuilly-sur-Marne, a group of mothers have reportedly been gathering every evening since protesters began patrolling the area's streets and dissuading people from rioting.
French elected officials and residents gather outside the town hall of Persan. Credit: Reuters/Yves Herman > Firefighters at the scene where demonstrators burned a car in Lille. Photo: Anadolu
“We take responsibility to come and see the children and not let them destroy anything,” one mother from the African Women’s Solidarity group can be heard saying in a video posted online by Jeneba Diaby, the commune’s deputy mayor for health.
“We talked to them and they understood,” she added.
Elsewhere, in the northeastern city of Metz, a group of 20 women were reportedly on duty over their nursery. elementary school, as there were riots nearby.
“The bandits, young people between the ages of 13 and 17, were all wearing hoods, but they didn’t touch us,” one of the mothers involved told Le Parisien. groups operating in the western city of Lorient, where a group of two dozen young people calling themselves «riot fighters» rounded up protesters and handed them over to the police.
Ouest-France, a local newspaper, said the group had extinguished the fire and stopped an attack on a local barbershop whose windows were smashed by three rioters.
Nahel's relatives called for calm on Sunday, accusing the rioters of using his death as an excuse for destruction.
«Stop and don’t rebel,” Nadia told BFM. “I tell people who are rioting: don’t break windows, don’t attack schools and buses. Stop! It is mothers who ride buses, mothers walk on the street. Nahel is dead, that's all.»
Sunday evening, there were signs that the crisis was easing, with officers making 157 arrests across the country, compared to more than 700 the night before.
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