French prosecutors have opened an investigation into the death of a 27-year old man, fatally shot by a rubber bullet during riots on Saturday, the Marseille prosecutor’s office said today.
There was rioting across France following the funeral of a teenager of North African descent, whose shooting by police during a traffic stop sparked nationwide unrest for several days.
Thousands have been arrested in the week of nationwide clashes since, with some 45,000 officers deployed to tackle the unrest.
Prosecutors say the death of an unnamed man in Marseille was caused by a violent shock to the chest from a ‘flash-ball’ projectile as used by riot police, but did not specify who fired or owned the gun.
The man died in the night from July 1 to July 2, while Marseille was engulfed in riots and pillaging.