Nearly 2,000 people convicted over France riots, minister says

Nearly 2,000 people have been convicted in France over nationwide riots sparked in late June by the fatal police shooting of a teenager during a traffic stop near Paris, Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti says.

The minister had called for a “rapid, firm and systematic” response from magistrates to the worst urban violence in the country since 2005, with many courts holding fast-track trials for suspects.

Speaking to RTL radio, Dupond-Moretti says that out of 2,107 people tried, 1,989 had been found guilty and 1,789 had received prison sentences.

“I called on magistrates to be firm and they responded,” Dupond-Moretti adds. “It was a question of restoring law and order.”

The minister also says that 20 judicial facilities were vandalized during the four nights of clashes, costing the taxpayer five million euros ($5.4 million).