Marseille counts the cost of a weekend of riots after police shooting

France's second city, Marseille, has become a hotspot for the rioting triggered all over the country by the death of a 17-year-old driver at the hands of police. While the situation appeared to have calmed by Monday, residents were counting the cost of a weekend of unrest.

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Protesters run from tear gas canisters during clashes with police in Marseille, southern France, on 1 July 2023. © CLEMENT MAHOUDEAU / AFP

From car dealerships to toy shops, more than 400 businesses in Marseille have been damaged or looted in riots that broke out after the fatal shooting of teenager Nahel M in a suburb of Paris last Tuesday, according to the southern city's chamber of commerce. It estimates that 200 to 250 of them were in the very centre of Marseille. 

"They shattered the window and then kicked down the metal barrier," Marie, who runs a clothing boutique, told RFI. "Then they got inside and spent four hours emptying the shop."

Another shopkeeper, Sonia, said all that was left inside her menswear store was a single belt. "I'm really shocked. I don't understand the point of smashing up shops," she told RFI's correspondent Siam Spencer. 

But the reaction of fellow shop owner Xavier was one of anger: "People here have lost their livelihood. My shop was gutted like all the others you see here. It's organised looting."

Triste image d'un magasin de jouets complètement pillé
Seule rescapée, une peluche pendue à un arbre#Marseille pic.twitter.com/2zQERPGaET

— Cassandre A (@CassandreAmx) July 1, 2023

Strict security measures

Vandalism has been reported in cities all over France in the six nights of unrest since Nahel's death. 

By Sunday night, in Marseille as in most other parts of the country, the violence showed signs of abating. While police maintained a heavy presence in the port city, with armoured vehicles on the streets and a helicopter overhead, the number of people arrested fell significantly – 21 on Sunday, compared to around 70 on Saturday and nearly 100 on Friday.

• Grandmother of teen killed by French police pleads for riots to stop

Marseille has been subject to some of the strictest security measures in the country since the start of the riots. Starting on Friday, its mayor announced a ban on protests and ordered the city's entire public transport system – bus, trams and metro – to shut down from 6pm. 

Authorities renewed the restrictions for another day on Monday, though this time transport will be allowed to run until 10pm. 

"There's a strange atmosphere. We're all afraid for one another," one resident, Amandine, told RFI over the weekend. "Not necessarily because we're scared there'll be damage or whatever, but things can quickly spiral... I love my city and it's hard to see it like this."

'It hurts my heart'

Historically neglected by central government, with some of the poorest neighbourhoods in the country and a history of drug trading and violent crime, Marseille has long had a reputation as one of France's roughest cities.

But in late 2005, when other towns were gripped by weeks of rioting after two teenagers were fatally electrocuted on the outskirts of Paris while being pursued by police, Marseille remained relatively calm.

As explanation, people pointed to the fact that the poorest parts of the city lie within a short distance of the centre, rather than being banished to the outskirts; to the high number of community-led associations; to initiatives to boost its economy; or, less triumphantly, to the control exercised by criminal gangs. 

What's different this time round? Some have speculated that social media has made it easier for people to gather, or to plot looting. Others point to a decline in community policing programmes that has hardened relations between locals and the police.

No doubt many things are at play in the past week's violence, which won't be cleared up when the broken glass is swept away.

A worker cleans debris next to a message on a board reading "Justice for Nahel" in the centre of Marseille, on 1 July 2023. © CLEMENT MAHOUDEAU / AFP

City and regional authorities have announced a €10 million recovery fund, inviting owners whose business was looted to claim emergency payouts of €10,000 each.

But those in the tourism industry fear that the unrest could have broader economic repercussions as nervous visitors cancel bookings – especially after a coach carrying a Chinese tour group was reportedly attacked by rioters as it drove through the city. The incident prompted China's Consulate General in Marseille to lodge a formal complaint.

• How are the riots in France seen from abroad?

On Monday, businesses were cautiously reopening, many of them with windows boarded up. 

"It hurts my heart to think about it," Marseille native Djamila told RFI. "They're smashing everything. I don't like it."