French firefighter dies putting out blaze during riots, says interior minister

A French firefighter died while trying to extinguish burning cars north of Paris, during a sixth consecutive night of rioting over the police killing of a teenager, according to Gerald Darmanin.

The 24-year-old firefighter died fighting the blaze in an underground car park in the Seine-Saint-Denis suburb north of the capital.

"We don't yet know whether this has anything to do with the urban violence," clarified the French interior minister on a visit to Reims.

-Mayors hold anti-riot rallies in France as arrests fall-

Demonstrations began at French town halls Monday opposing nearly a week of violent protests over a teen's fatal shooting by police, even as the first signs emerged that the unrest was beginning to ease.

The government has battled riots and looting since 17-year-old Nahel M. was shot dead by a police officer during a traffic stop on Tuesday, reviving longstanding accusations of racism against the French police force.

During a sixth consecutive night of unrest, a fireman died while seeking to douse burning vehicles north of Paris but it was unclear if there was a link to the violent protests, the interior ministry said.

Monday's demonstrations -- called a "mobilization of citizens for a return to republican order" -- came after the home of the mayor of a Paris suburb was rammed with a flaming car, prompting widespread outrage.

In a statement, an association of the country's mayors noted that areas "everywhere in France are the scene of serious unrest, which targets republican symbols with extreme violence".

Seeking to quell what has become one of the biggest challenges to President Emmanuel Macron since he took office in 2017, the interior ministry again deployed 45,000 police and gendarmes nationwide overnight from Sunday to Monday, the same figure as the previous two nights.

A total of 157 people were arrested in relation to the unrest nationwide, according to the interior ministry -- a fraction of the number taken into custody the night before. Three police officers were also wounded.

Among 3,200 people arrested in rioting since Tuesday, the average age was 17 and some were "children, there is no other word, of 12 or 13," Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on a visit to eastern city Reims.

Internal affairs investigators on Monday began interviewing a passenger in the car Nahel was driving without a license, a police source told AFP.

Meanwhile, a collection for the family of the 38-year-old policeman who fired the fatal shot -- now charged with voluntary manslaughter -- over USD1 million.