Six people were arrested in Rillieux-la-Pape, a town in central-east France not far from Lyon, following violence during an anti-police demonstration, Mayor Alexandre Vincendet said on Saturday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 06th March, 2021) Six people were arrested in Rillieux-la-Pape, a town in central-east France not far from Lyon, following violence during an anti-police demonstration, Mayor Alexandre Vincendet said on Saturday.
The violence broke out on Friday evening, featuring arson and looting.
"I would like to congratulate Urban Surveillance Center officers who were able to retrieve the footage from surveillance cameras which made it possible for the immediate detention of six perpetrators," Vincendet said on Twitter, warning that the search for other perpetrators would continue.
According to the Rillieux-la-Pape mayor, the violence was in response to an anti-drug police operation earlier this week.
"This sort of reprisal is quite typical of the aftermath of anti-drug operations," a source told French newspaper Le Figaro.
According to the report, the violence was initiated in the Alagniers district by a group of young people. They reportedly burnt 15 cars, damaged five administrative vehicles and battered at least three items of public property, namely bus stops.
It was initially believed that the violence was in response to a road accident involving a local 13-year-old boy, who got seriously injured while chased after by the police earlier this week. This incident ignited violence in Lyon's Duchere district on Thursday.
