French police report 1,300 arrests amid rise in riots

Unrest in the country forced Prez Macron to cancel his Germany trip

RIOTING and looting raged in cities around France for a fourth night despite a huge police deployment and 1,311 arrests, as family and friends prepared on Saturday to bury the 17-year-old whose killing by police unleashed the unrest and forced President Emmanuel Macron to cancel an important trip abroad.

France’s Interior Ministry announced the new figure for arrests around the country, where 45,000 police officers fanned out in a so-far unsuccessful bid to quell days of violence that was triggered after the teen’s death on Tuesday.

Despite an appeal to parents by Macron to keep their kids at home, street clashes between young protesters and police raged on. About 2,500 fires were set and stores were ransacked, according to authorities.