Riots: in Strasbourg, shops in the city center vandalized by gangs of young people

Mélina Facchin (in Strasbourg), with AFP / Photo credits: PATRICK HERTZOG / AFP 19:19 p.m., June 30, 2023, modified at 19:21 p.m., June 30, 2023

Incidents occurred Friday afternoon in the city center of Strasbourg where an Apple Store was vandalized, AFP journalists found, three days after Nahel's death. A journalist from Europe 1 also witnessed the looting of a shop in the city by young people.

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At first, the Les Halles shopping center, near the big island, was cordoned off for fear of overflows. Many gangs of young people then gathered on Place Kléber, in the city center, where an Apple Store was vandalized.

Showrooms looted

"They broke two of the windows, and we saw gangs of young people entering, leaving, entering, leaving trying to rob showrooms," Corentin Flinck, who works in an adjacent store, told AFP. The Apple store has a façade overlooking Place Kléber, and the other side opens onto a shopping mall. "Quickly the police intervened with tear gas but the gas entered the shops of the gallery and we had to shelter several customers," added Corentin Flinck.

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Many police officers took place in front of the Apple Store and in the surrounding area. Several loud explosions were heard outside the store. Galeries Lafayette, which also overlooks Place Kléber, has lowered its metal curtains, as have several other shops in the area. Tram traffic in the city centre has been interrupted.