Video Shows Burned-Out Car Wreckage After Ram Attack on French Mayor's Home

A video showing the burned-out car that rioters used to attack the house of the mayor of a town in the suburbs of Paris, France amid protests over the police killing of a teenager in Nanterre has gone viral on social media, with over 80,000 people watching the clip.

Vincent Jeanbrun, mayor of L'Haÿ-les-Roses, an area in the southern suburbs of Paris, said that, "at 1:30 a.m." on Sunday, "while I was at the city hall like the past three nights, individuals rammed their car upon my residence before setting fire to it to burn my house, inside which my wife and my two young children slept."

Jeanbrun called it an assassination attempt. "While trying to protect the children and escape the attackers, my wife and one of my children were injured," he added.

The last few days have seen widespread protests in France after police in Nanterre shot dead an unarmed 17-year-old of Algerian and Moroccan descent, Nahel Merzouk, on June 27. The teenager was shot by an officer during a traffic stop, after he tried to drive away from the police. He was reportedly driving without a license, and was unarmed.

Initial claims by the officer involved saying that he had acted in self-defense when he shot the teen—later proven false—contributed outrage among the public, with previous cases of police brutality against French nationals and people of African descent exacerbating the situation.

Jeanbrun condemned the attack against his home and thanked police and rescue services for their help. He said that he had "no words strong enough to describe his emotion towards the horror of this night."

In clips of the burned-out vehicle outside his home, the wrecked car appears to be a few feet away from the house's main door. According to prosecutors investigating the case, the car used in the attack was meant to burn down the house, but the vehicle was stopped by a low wall.

The entrance gate was hit as well as the family car, according to prosecutor Stéphane Hardouin.

According to local reports, the rioters who led the attack against the mayor's home have not been arrested, but an investigation has been opened for attempted murder.

Since Tuesday, riots across France, which targeted symbols of the state such as town halls, police stations, and schools, led to the arrests of 1,311 people nationwide as of July 1, according to the French Interior Ministry.

Some 719 more were arrested on Saturday night, according to authorities—the fifth consecutive night of violent protests. Most of the protesters in the streets, according to authorities, are minors.

The prolonged protests are a major issue for France's President, Emmanuel Macron, who has not faced a similar public uprising since he forced the passing of his controversial law raising the age of retirement for French people in April.

In an attempt to quell the unrest, Macron has urged parents to keep their kids home and has deployed 45,000 additional police officers nationwide.