French president urges parents to keep teens at home, faults social media as rioting spreads

French President Emmanuel Macron urged parents Friday to keep teenagers at home and proposed restrictions on social media to quell rioting spreading across France over the fatal police shooting of a 17-year-old driver that has resulted so far in the arrests of 875 people.

French President Emmanuel Macron urged parents Friday to keep teenagers at home and blamed social media for fueling rioting that has spread dramatically across France following the fatal police shooting of a 17-year-old driver.

In the face of a growing crisis that hundreds of arrests and massive police deployments have failed to quell, Macron held off on declaring a state of emergency, an option that was used in similar circumstances in 2005. Instead, his government ratcheted up a law enforcement response that has resulted so far in 875 arrests.

The interior minister ordered a nationwide nighttime shutdown of all public buses and trams, which were among the targets of three consecutive nights of urban unrest. Macron also zeroed-in on social media platforms that have relayed dramatic images of cars and buildings being torched and other acts of violence.

Social networks are playing a "considerable role" in the violence, the French leader said. Singling out Snapchat and TikTok by name, he said the platforms were being used to organize unrest and serving as conduits for copycat violence.

Macron said his government would work with technology companies to establish procedures for "the removal of the most sensitive content." He did not specify the content he had in mind but said, "I expect a spirit of responsibility from these platforms."

French authorities also plan to request, when "useful," the identities "of those who use these social networks to call for disorder or exacerbate the violence," the president said.