Alarming evidence of violence and destruction have flooded social media in recent days as France devolves into chaos.
Rioters, largely consisting of immigrants who have entered the country from the Middle East and Africa, took to the streets in response to the police shooting of a migrant during a traffic stop. Despite calls for calm from the family of the teen who was killed, much of the nation remains mired in unrest one week later.
The chaos continues in France. pic.twitter.com/NWmdcjJ0aH
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) July 3, 2023
Among the most shocking examples of this troubling trend involved the mayor of a Paris suburb, whose home was targeted by rioters last week.
According to reports, the culprits chased Vincent Jeanbrun’s wife and children out of the home before setting it ablaze.
Melanie Nowak and the couple’s two children were reportedly sleeping inside at the time of the attack. When she attempted to push the children over a wall to escape the scene, she broke her leg and remained in the hospital as of Sunday.
One of the children was also reported injured in the incident.
The mayor of L’Hay-les-Roses described the attack as an “assassination attempt,” asserting that “a milestone was reached in horror and ignominy.”
Local prosecutor Stephane Hardoin agreed, explaining: “Given the gravity of the situation, the prosecutor’s office has chosen to qualify this act as an assassination attempt and everything will be done to find the perpetrators and bring them to justice.”
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin issued a statement calling those targeted by the rioters “victims of a cowardly and terrible attack” and promised that authorities would hold those behind the incident accountable.
“An investigation for attempted murder has been opened and significant resources of the judicial police are mobilized,” he said. “The perpetrators of these facts will answer for their heinous acts.”
Meanwhile, police are scrambling to regain law and order in cities nationwide. Two law enforcement unions issued a scathing response to the utter destruction that has plagued France in recent days.
“In the face of these savage hordes, calling for calm is not enough, we need to impose it, to re-establish order in the republic and put those arrested beyond where they can act up,” the Alliance Police Nationale and UNSA wrote.
