More than 700 people handed prison sentences over French riots

Some 742 people have been sentenced to prison over the recent urban violence in France, the country's justice minister said Wednesday, lauding the "firm" response of magistrates.

Youths clash with police forces on 29 June in Nanterre – the western banlieue where Nahel Merzouk was shot dead by an officer two days before. AP - Christophe Ena

In total, 1,278 verdicts have been handed down, with over 95 percent of defendants convicted on a range of charges from vandalism to attacking police officers.

Six hundred people have already been jailed.

"It was extremely important to have a response that was firm and systematic," Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti told RTL radio. "It was essential that we reestablish national order." 

France's most intense bout of urban violence since 2005 began on 27 June when a police officer shot dead Nahel Merzouk – a 17-year-old boy of North African descent –  during a traffic stop in the poor, working-class banlieue of Nanterre, west of Paris. A passerby captured the incident on video.

The riots were contained after five nights of serious clashes thanks to the deployment of around 45,000 security forces, including elite police special forces and armoured vehicles.  

• France deploys armoured vehicles to contain riots over police shooting

Dupond-Moretti had led calls for courts to hand down harsh sentences as a deterrent, with some staying open over the weekend of the clashes to handle a backlog of cases.

Many suspects faced immediate appearances and some defence lawyers have raised concerns about the fairness of the judicial process and the heavy use of custodial sentences. 

Marseille-based lawyer Camille Bal told France info radio that while she understood the will of the judiciary to "send out a strong message" the punishments handed out had been "extremely severe, including for first offenders who had no criminal record”.

One of her clients, a 30-year old man, was given a nine-month jail term for stealing a can of drink from a trashed supermarket.

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The average age of the 3,700 people arrested was just 17 and minors are appearing in separate children's courts. 

The number of people handed prison terms is higher than in the November 2005 riots when around 400 people were sent to jail. 

Those riots, triggered by the deaths of two teenagers in an electricity sub-station as they were trying to hide from the police, lasted three weeks and led to a state of emergency being declared.

(with AFP)