France begins clean-up after weekend of riots, but police remain deployed

A clean-up operation has begun in France following a weekend of intense rioting, but tensions in the country have not eased. According to the BBC, police remain in position and a curfew is still in place in some of the big cities, suggesting the situation is not yet fully calm.

Marseille among the worst-hit places

Outside the capital, Paris, some of the worst damage was recorded in Marseille, a port city in southern France. Local shop owners say more than 600 premises were looted. The figure comes from the traders themselves, as relayed by the BBC.

What lies behind the protests

BBC correspondent Nick Beake, reporting from Marseille, explains some of the factors behind the protests. The short video report does not set those factors out in detail. It also gives no numbers for arrests or injuries, no total cost of the damage, and no precise date on which the unrest began.

What happens now

For the moment, clean-up work is under way in affected areas while the police presence and curfews continue. Until those measures are lifted, the aftermath of the unrest continues to affect residents and business owners who suffered looting. What follows will depend on whether tensions subside or the unrest flares up again.