The country erupted in riots last Tuesday after the fatal shooting of a French- Algerian teenager, Nahel M., during a traffic stop.  So far, one firefighter died while trying to put out car fires.  Thousands of cars have been torched.  Hundreds of buildings have been burnt, and rockets were fired at a suburban Parisian mayor and his family. Over 3000 people have been arrested, and as of Sunday, the protests have begun to slow somewhat but have not totally stopped.

Here's how the French riots started.

If you spent time in American cities in 2020, this probably sounds reminiscent of the George Floyd riots, though there are some key differences.  Police originally claimed Nahel was trying to drive away, but footage verified by Agence France-Presse proved that he was not resisting arrest. He lived with his mother, who was raising him alone, and while he had dropped out of school, he held down a job as a delivery boy.  Nahel was also enrolled in a sports program aimed at helping youths from migrant neighborhoods assimilate.