45,000 police officers deployed amid French protests

The government of France is trying to restore calm in the midst of the crisis tonight. It follows five nights of angry riots in the streets and police battles with protestors.

The violence has been sweeping through France since last Tuesday, police fighting running battles in the streets with demonstrators.

Saturday night alone, 45,000 police officers were called out, about 50 of them were injured. 700 arrests were made following 1,300 arrests the night before.

Officials were particularly angered by an attack on the home of a Paris-area mayor. A burning car slammed into the house where his family was sleeping, his wife and one child were injured.

The violence followed the police killing a 17-year-old man of Algerian descent, known as Nahel. Nahel was shot and killed by a police officer at a traffic stop as he tried to drive away. The officer is charged with homicide.

The rioting also follows long-standing racial tension between the police and young people in mostly immigrant and minority areas.

A funeral was held for Nahel this weekend, and his grandmother spoke out, calling for the violence to stop.

The violence has reached from Paris to other areas like Marseille, Toulouse, Lyon, and Strasbourg.

Officials of the annual Tour de France say they’re ready to make changes if rioting threatens to interfere with the bike race. French officials were sending 45,000 police officers into the streets again tonight.