Damages linked to riots in response to the police shooting of teenager Nahel Merzouk in France are expected to cost insurers €650 million, the French Insurers industry federation announced on Tuesday.
The sum that insurers must reimburse as a result of damages caused by nights of intense rioting has been rising as the extent of damage is calculated. Since last week, the total has more than doubled. During the violence, nearly 700 police officers were injured. More than 1,300 suspects were arrested.
According to the Federation, 90% of the cost of the violence “concerns the 3,900 property of professionals and local communities,” president of the Federation of French Insurers Florence Lustmans remarked in the press release. Damages mostly relate to personal vehicles owned by individuals.
The Federation counts at least 11,300 claims related to the violence, which was sparked by a police shooting in the prefecture of Nanterre. The French Interior Ministry reports that more than 5,000 vehicles were set on fire, as well as 10,000 rubbish bins. 1,000 buildings were burned, damaged, or looted and 250 police stations were attacked.
Workers repair broken Nike store windows after protesters plundered restaurants and shops during the protest to the death of 17-year-old Nahel, who was shot in the chest by police in Paris pic.twitter.com/jx6W5nUAdI
— Anadolu English (@anadoluagency) June 30, 2023
55% of the claims dealt with by French insurers related to professional property, while 35% related to objects owned by local authorities.
On July 1, Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire asked insurers to extend the declaration deadlines, reduce deductibles and quickly compensate professionals who were victims of the riots, towards whom the banks were also called upon to show understanding.
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Comparisons have been drawn to previous outbreaks of violence, such as the 2005 riots that followed police aggression towards teenagers living in the Parisien banlieues (peripheral town projects).
Back then, three weeks of riots destroyed 8,000 vehicles and led to the arrest of 2,760 individuals. Damage and fires targeting vehicles accounted for more than 80% of insurer claims, for a total cost of €204 million.
