The French government thinks the damage from the collisions is high, but says it’s too early to count them.

French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire said this Saturday that it was too early to estimate the extent of the damage caused by the unrest of recent days in several cities of the country, although he stressed that it would be “high”.

“There is no nation without order,” the politician warned after meeting in Paris with merchants and hotel owners to assess the situation in terms of damage and economic losses.

Le Maire felt that it was too early to calculate property damage, but stressed that they were “high”.

About ten shopping malls, 200 supermarkets, 250 tobacconists, 250 bank branches and many stores of various types, including fashion and sporting goods, as well as fast food restaurants, were affected across the country, the minister said.

The minister urged insurers to promptly issue compensation to their customers and said that other measures are planned to support affected companies, such as the ability to defer their tax deductions or extend the balance sheet period by one week, which began its first big period this Saturday. weekend.

Almost at the same time, Justice Minister Eric Dupont-Moretti also appeared to repeat, after a meeting with prosecutors, the messages he had already sent yesterday: that a third of the detainees were minors (under 13). and that parents are responsible for their actions, further highlighting the central role played by social media.

“Let no one think that there is impunity behind these social networks,” he warned.

French President Emmanuel Macron will meet with the country’s mayors this afternoon to assess the situation.

The head of state also changed his schedule from tomorrow, when he was due to leave for a state visit to Germany, and will remain in France.

The Home Office updated this Saturday from 994 to 1,311 the total number of arrests made on Friday in connection with the riots that have devastated France since last Tuesday.

Police, some 45,000 strong, helped quell the violence during this fourth night of unrest, but casualties were heavy.

Even so, “79 policemen and gendarmes were injured,” about 1,350 vehicles were set on fire, 234 buildings were burned or damaged, and about 2,560 fires were registered on public roads, the ministry said on Saturday.

Despite a high number of arrests, more than had been recorded in previous days, French authorities believe the incidents were less intense than last night.

The cause of this wave of riots was the death of a 17-year-old young man of Arab origin named Nahel, who was mortally wounded by a policeman while trying to escape from a checkpoint in Nanterre.

Pictures of the incident, recorded by eyewitnesses, caused strong indignation in the country, which turned into riots, especially in the popular quarters of large cities and the Paris agglomeration.

The funeral of the young man took place this morning, as announced the day before by the mayor of Nanterre, Patrick Jarry.

Speaking to the French press, the family asked for a day of “discretion” and “remembrance”, so the funeral was respectful of the request of those closest to Nahel.