Nice mayor calls for more prison places after French unrest

Nice mayor Eric Ciotti called on 18 October for France to urgently expand prison capacity for rioters and impose tougher penalties for attacks on police.

RIA Novosti reported that Ciotti wrote on X that people who attacked police officers should face jury trials. He also proposed withdrawing welfare benefits and social housing from rioters.

Local outlet Nice Mag reported that the mayor visited affected shopkeepers on Avenue Jean-Medecin on Sunday. During the visit, he advocated custodial sentences for people convicted of vandalism and looting, alongside removing benefits and housing from their parents.

The unrest broke out during nationwide protests against the cost of living on Saturday. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said more than two thousand people had been arrested and more than 600 police personnel and firefighters injured.