PARIS: After days of protests against police violence, French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin on Tuesday warned against stigmatising foreigners, reported German news agency (dpa).
“The question today is about the criminals, not the foreigners,” Darmanin told a parliament session in Paris.
Of the 4,000 people arrested in the past few days, fewer than 10 per cent are not French nationals, and only 40 of them face detention pending deportation.
“We don’t want hatred of the police or hatred of foreigners. We want love for the republic,” Darmanin said.
It is possible to have an immigrant background, to come from the suburbs and to love your country, he added.
In this context, Darmanin stressed that investigations were not being conducted against the entire police force. Nor were all residents of the suburbs to blame for the riots, but only a few criminals.
France has been rocked by heavy rioting since the shooting of a 17-year-old by police last week. – BERNAMA-dpa
