French police officers detained four minors involved in riots in the city of Rillieux-la-Pape in the south-east of the country. This is reported by the BFM TV channel.
Riots in the city on the evening of March 5 were staged by about 30 young people. Hooligans set fire to cars and smashed up bus stops. While the gendarmes arrived at the scene and cordoned off the area, the thugs managed to burn two buses and 13 cars. It took several hours for law enforcement officers to restore order.
The day before, on Thursday, March 4, riots occurred in one of the quarters of Lyon. During the clash with the police, aggressive young people burned six cars and two motorcycles. Two people were detained.
According to the police, the incidents in and around Lyon are related to an accident in which a 13-year-old boy was seriously injured while riding a scooter without a helmet. He was seriously injured and was taken to the hospital.
The rioters believe that the young man was hit by a police car. The guards, in turn, claim that they were simply restoring order in the quarter, where several people staged a race on scooters.
Youth crime in France has recently become a big problem. Before that, in the city of Beauvais in northern France, there were clashes between youth groups, during which several people were killed. In February, skirmishes took place in Paris and the suburbs. French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said that the fight against youth crime will be strengthened and that he took the issue under personal control.
