At least 719 people have been arrested so far tonight across France in the fifth consecutive night of protests and riots after the death at the hands of the Police of a 17-year-old teenager, Nahel M., on Tuesday in Nanterre, as reported by the country’s Interior Minister, Gerald Darmanin.

Despite this information, Darmanin has described on his Twitter account tonight as “quieter thanks to the determined action of the police”, compared to the previous four.

Of the arrests, at least 56 have been in Marseille, 21 in Lyon and 194 in Paristhe French capital, where the greatest tension is taking place on the Champs-Élysées, which have had to be closed by the Police to avoid altercations, according to the newspaper ‘Le Figaro’.

The Prefecture of Marseille has informed that among the detainees there are three people surprised when robbed a tobacconist in the Cours Julien districtaccording to BFMTV.

The situation in Marseille “under control”

In addition, groups have formed in the vicinity of Marseille shopping centers such as Grand Littoral, Bonneveine and Le Merlan. In the latter there would be a hundred people gathered in the parking lot.

In any case, the Bouches-du-Rhône police headquarters has stressed that “the situation is under control” in Marseille and that “potentially violent groups have been systematically dispersed by the police and gendarmes.”

Previously, the arrest of 14 people had been reported on Saturday afternoon during an attempted assault on La Canebière street, one of the most important in Marseille.

Meanwhile, in Paris, it has been reported that at least 37 people have been detained on a preventive basis in the vicinity of the Champs-Élysées for carrying weapons, according to the Police Headquarters, which has reported 375 controls installed in which objects such as a slingshot with bearings, an American fist or Molotov cocktails have been found.

The mayor of the town of L’Hay-les-Roses has reported on his Twitter account that his house has been attacked with a burning car and that his wife, while trying to escape with their two children, has been injured, for which reason has had to be hospitalized.

Riots have broken out in Nice and 20 people have already been arrested. The mayor of the city, Christian Estrosi, has reported on his Twitter account that “a gang of youths looted a store in the center of the city”, but the Police have already arrested them and the mayor has indicated to their parents: “you will pay for the damages and thefts”.

The Minister of the Interior, Gerald Darmaninannounced before the night that this Saturday the mobilization of 45,000 police and gendarmes to stop the riots.

The Bouches-du-Rhône police headquarters has announced the deployment of the GIGN in Marseilles and will have two armored vehicles from the Gendarmerie. Darmanin confirmed the deployment of five mobile force units in the city of Marseille “in order to fully restore public order.”