Three people were arrested in the French commune of Sarcelles after a mob of around 30 individuals laid siege to a local police station with fireworks for nearly half an hour.
Police sources say the attack began at around 7:25 pm on Thursday evening and that the mob of 30 or so people pelted the police station with fireworks and other projectiles but noted that no one had been injured during the lengthy assault.
According to a report from broadcaster Franceinfo, the group of individuals used so-called mortar fireworks during the 30-minute assault, which have become popular with youth in no-go areas and have been used often in recent scenes of urban violence and attacks on police officers.
Last year, police union spokesman Rocco Contento explained that the fireworks, which consist of a tube with a firework inside, are popular as they can be easily aimed at targets and launched without harm to the user.
He noted that while a special clearance is required to buy the fireworks at a retailer in France, the mortars can be easily obtained through the internet.
The attack on the police station in Sarcelles is just the latest such attack in recent months. Last October, a police station in Champigny-sur-Marne was attacked by a group of 40 people who tried to break into the station using iron bars against the glass door entrance.
Several police vehicles were damaged and windows of the station were smashed and no one was arrested in connection with the attack, which took place in what was described as an “agitated” neighbourhood by former deputy mayor François Cocq.
In November, another police station came under siege by attackers wielding Molotov cocktails in the more rurally located commune of Cahors. One police vehicle was totally destroyed by fire in the incident, which sparked outrage from local police unions.
The Alliance Police Nationale Occitanie commented on the attack noting that it proved anti-police violence and “anti-cop hatred” was not just a problem in urban areas of France.
Attacks on police officers have also become more and more common across France in recent years, with a recent report from the statistical services of the French Ministry of the Interior noting that within the past 20 years, attacks had more than doubled.