French police station pounded by fireworks, ‘mortar shots’ in attack linked to drug gangs
- The station, which has been attacked before, is located in a housing estate area known for drug trafficking and deemed by authorities as a high priority
- A spate of criminal incidents across France since lockdown ended in mid-May has put President Emmanuel Macron’s government on heightened alert
About 40 people armed with metal bars and using fireworks as projectiles tried to storm a police station in the Paris suburbs on Saturday night, officials said.
The police posted a video showing a barrage of fireworks going off in the direction of the police station in Champigny-sur-Marne, about 15km southeast of central Paris. The unidentified assailants tried to force an entry into the station, but failed to do so.
Nobody was arrested, but images showed smashed windows at the station and damaged cars.
The motive for the attack, the third on this police station in two years, was not immediately clear. The station is located in a housing estate area known for drug trafficking and deemed by authorities as a high priority district for order to be restored.
Champigny Mayor Laurent Jeanne said the attack may have been triggered after a scooter accident that local residents blamed on the police.