Mayors in France have called for people to rally outside town halls on Monday to protest the violence and looting.
In a press release shared on Sunday, an association of the country’s mayors notes that “communes everywhere in France are the scene of serious unrest, which targets republican symbols with extreme violence”.
“We refuse to let our country succumb to chaos… Unfortunately, this situation does not come as a surprise, and for years France’s mayors have been sounding alarm bells over the degradation in our society,” the press release reads.
It also makes a reference to the attack on a suburban Paris mayor’s home at the weekend, in which rioters fired rockets at the official’s fleeing wife and children. The incident is being treated as attempted murder.
Rioters have damaged and attempted to set fires to several town halls across France since the start of the unrest.
On Tuesday, French President Emmanuel Macron will meet the mayors of 220 townships that have been affected by the French riots and violence.
On Sunday, a 24-year-old fireman was killed in the French riots, while seeking to douse several cars which had been set alight in an underground car park in Seine-Saint-Denis, north of Paris, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said.
A spokesperson for the Paris fire brigade told the BBC that there is at this stage “no formal link” with the violence that has rocked France, but the interior ministry said an investigation is underway to determine the circumstances of the fire.
About 45,000 officers were deployed across the country for the third day running.
The French riots which are into its 5th day were in response to the shooting of teenager Nahel M during a police traffic stop.
More than 150 people were arrested on Sunday night, compared with more than 700 the night before.
Over the last few days, there have been numerous calls for the violence to stop, including from Nahel’s family.
However, there are hopes that the unrest is subsiding as Sunday was a much quieter night.
At the weekend, the family of Nahel, the teenager who was killed by police, called for calm.