PARIS: The violence between the protesters and police broke out in Paris on the second day following Friday’s deadly shooting at a Kurdish cultural centre, according to The New York Post. The protesters overturned vehicles, setting some of them on fire, and threw objects at police, who responded with tear gas.
The protest came after a gunman killed three people and injured three others in a possibly racist attack at the cultural centre on Rue d’Enghien in central Paris Friday. The protesters broke car windows and set some of them on fire after the deadly attack on the Kurdish community.
The protest resumed again on Saturday after a largely peaceful demonstration at the city’s Place de la Republique to mourn the three victims, reported The New York Post. Hundreds of Kurdish demonstrators joined French politicians, including the mayor of the 10th district, to pay tribute to the victims in Paris’ central square, where protests are usually held.
“We are not being protected at all. In 10 years, six Kurdish activists have been killed in the heart of Paris in broad daylight,” Berivan Firat, a spokesperson for the Kurdish Democratic Council in France, political group, told BFM TV at the demonstration, according to The New York Post.
The group had put out a call on their social media platforms for people to gather at the square for a peaceful demonstration. Earlier, on Saturday, the custody of the suspected gunman (69), was lifted for health reasons and he was taken to a police psychiatric unit, the prosecutor said, reported France24.
“The doctor who examined the suspect today in the late afternoon said that the state of health of the person concerned was not compatible with the measure of custody,” the Paris prosecutor said.
Police arrested a 69-year-old man who the authorities said had recently been freed from detention while awaiting trial for a sabre attack on a migrant camp in Paris a year ago, reported France24. Following questioning of the suspect, investigators had added a suspected racist motive to initial accusations of murder and violence with weapons, the prosecutor’s office said on Saturday.
President Emmanuel Macron said France’s Kurdish community had been the target of a heinous attack, while Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said that the suspected assailant had clearly wanted to target foreigners.
Earlier this afternoon, clashes broke out for a second day in Paris between police and members of the Kurdish community due to anger at the killing of three members of the Kurdish community, reported France24. Friday’s murders came ahead of the anniversary of the killings of three Kurdish women in Paris in January 2013.
An investigation was dropped after the main suspect died shortly before coming to trial, before being re-opened in 2019. (ANI)