Funviralpark On Saturday in Paris, riots erupted for the second day in a row after a deadly attack on a Kurdish community center and two businesses.
Protesters overturned vehicles, set parts on fire and threw objects at police, who responded with tear gas.
A 69-year-old man said he was a racist who hated foreigners, according to a report by Agence France-Presse.
Protests began immediately after the shooting incident, with demonstrators smashing car windows and setting fires. Violence resumed on Saturday after a mostly peaceful demonstration in the city’s Place de la Republique to mourn the three victims. Hundreds of Kurdish demonstrators joined French politicians, including the mayor of the 10th arrondissement, to pay tribute to the victims in Paris’ main square, where protests are usually held.
“We have no protection at all. In a decade, six Kurdish activists have been murdered in broad daylight in the heart of Paris,” said a spokesman for the French Kurdish Democratic Council, a political group. One Beriban Firat told BFM TV at the demonstration.The group had called on social media platforms to gather people in the square for a peaceful demonstration.
Protests began after the shooting, with demonstrators breaking car windows.
The Kurdish community wants the shooting to be considered a terrorist attack.
advertisement
The shooter was charged last year with attacking a migrant with a sword.
Violence reignited after a mostly peaceful demonstration commensurate with shooting victims.
advertisement
Firat told TV that the demonstration turned violent after people in passing cars carrying Turkish flags made “nationalist gestures”.
The suspect, who was released on bail days before the shooting, has a history of racist violence. Last year, he was indicted after attacking migrants with a sword in a migrant camp in another part of Paris.
The unidentified suspect, a retired train driver and former con man, was arrested with a pistol and a box containing 25 cartridge cases and a loaded magazine, the news service reported. Witnesses said a tall, elderly man shot dead two men and a woman. According to reports, he had three other injuries, one of which he was seriously injured.
An Ahmet Kaya Kurdish center, a restaurant and a nearby hair salon were set on fire during Friday’s attack before the suspect was arrested.
Friday’s shooting occurred as Kurds in the city prepared to mourn the killing of three Kurdish women ten years ago. This crime has not yet been solved. The investigation was dropped after the lead suspect died before trial.
Representatives of the Kurdish community who met with police officials in Paris on Saturday want Friday’s shooting to be considered a terrorist attack, according to reports.
