PARIS, Dec 24 (Reuters) – Clashes erupted in Paris on Saturday for a second day between members of the Kurdish community angry over the killing of three members of their community in Paris on Friday.
Cars were overturned, at least one car was set on fire and small fires were lit near Republic Square, the city’s traditional protest site where Kurds have previously held peaceful protests.
Clashes erupted as some protesters left the square, throwing missiles at police who responded with tear gas. Clashes lasted for about two hours before the protesters dispersed.
A gun guy The killings hit a Kurdish cultural center and nearby cafes in a busy part of Paris’s 10th arrondissement on Friday, shocking a community that was preparing to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the unsolved murders of three activists.
Police have arrested a 69-year-old man who authorities said was recently released from detention while awaiting trial for a saber attack on a Paris migrant camp a year ago.
After questioning the suspect, investigators added a suspected racist motive to the initial charges of murder and violence with a weapon, the prosecutor’s office said Saturday.
After angry mobs clashed with police on Friday afternoon, the Kurdish Democratic Council of France (CDK-F) organized a rally in Republic Square on Saturday.
[1/8] Smoke rises from a fire as members of the Kurdish community attend a protest following a shooting in Paris, France, on December 24, 2022. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier
Hundreds of Kurdish protesters, joined by politicians including the mayor of Paris’s 10th arrondissement, waved flags and paid tribute to the victims.
“We are not being protected at all. In 10 years, six Kurdish activists have been killed in broad daylight in the heart of Paris,” CDK-F spokesman Berivan Firat told BFM TV at the protest.
The incident turned violent after some protesters displayed a Turkish flag and made a nationalist gesture, provoked by people in a passing car, he said.
Friday’s killings came before the anniversary of the killing of three Kurdish women in Paris in January 2013.
An inquest was dropped after the main suspect died shortly before going to trial before reopening in 2019.
“The Kurdish community is scared. They have already been traumatized by the triple massacre (in 2013). It needs answers, support and consideration,” David Andik, a lawyer representing the CDK-F, told reporters on Friday.
Kurdish representatives who met with Paris’s police chief on Saturday reiterated their call for Friday’s shooting to be treated as a terrorist attack.
The questioning of the suspects continued, the prosecutor’s office added.
Reporting by Manuel Auslus, Anthony Paone, Gus Trompiz, Kate Entringer and Caroline Piliz; Editing by Philippa Fletcher and Nick McPhee
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