France has been rocked by a fourth day of rioting following the killing of a 17 year old by police officers. Fox News reports that a full 45,000 police officers have been mobilized to quell the riots, including tactical units BRI, RAID, and GIGN which responded to the massive terrorist attacks of November 13, 2015.
Macron has blamed social media and video games for the rapid spread of the riots. Recording on Snapchat, TikTok and other social media accounts has both informed the public of the scale of the riots, but also pushed others to seek fame with their actions. Macron’s popularity took a hit following videos of him dancing at an Elton John concert while Paris was burning.
Macron dancing in Elton John’s concert while Paris was burning.#France #FranceRiots pic.twitter.com/MFuTeTF8gp
— Wali Khan (@WaliKhan_TK) June 30, 2023
Major libraries have been set ablaze across the country, including those in Marseille and Metz which contained ancient documents.
Rioters in France burning down the largest public library in the city of Marseille. pic.twitter.com/uPl6n82zFT
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) June 30, 2023
BREAKING:
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) June 30, 2023
Rioters in France have set the Jean-Macé library in Metz on fire tonight.
Looks like the building is beyond saving
pic.twitter.com/qpRsrRVKKF
More disturbingly, rioters have seized firearms from gun shops in addition to black market fully-automatic rifles. Some have been setting themselves up as urban snipers.
Snipers spotted on French rooftops. This is literally a civil war now in France. #FranceRiots pic.twitter.com/t5u9tZFAkJ
— Paul Golding (@GoldingBF) June 30, 2023
Grenades, many flowing from conflict in the Middle East or Eastern Europe, have also made appearances.
🇫🇷 A hand grenade has been thrown at French police in the midst of the anti-police violence riots. pic.twitter.com/l6EwGvZXkY
— Jake Hanrahan (@Jake_Hanrahan) June 29, 2023
Still others have been spotted with belt-fed machine guns, a sight unseen in European riots previously.
The rioters have belt-fed weapons. This isn’t Gaza or Libya, it’s France. pic.twitter.com/hZJGTDcss0
— TimOnPoint (@TimOnPoint) July 1, 2023
Should security services and rioters exchange live fire, the French government might have to call in the Army to put down the insurrection.
