France travel warning: Foreign Office issues alert to Brits as riots over police shooting see 1,300 arrests

Brits travelling to France this summer have been warned by the Foreign Office to take caution and monitor the media. The country has seen widespread rioting and four nights of violence following the police shooting of a 17-year-old boy.

The new travel advice, posted on the Government website, warns that local authorities ‘may impose curfews’ and that the timing of riots across France are currently ‘unpredictable’.

The announcement notes that ‘shops, public buildings and parked cars’ have been targeted during the riots and there’s also likely to be ‘disruptions to road travel’. The government also added it was “more important than ever to get travel insurance and check it provides sufficient cover”.

Riots began on June 27 when Nahel M, a 17-year-old of Algerian descent, was shot by police as he drove away from a traffic stop. On Friday night, 45,000 police officers were reportedly deployed across the country with Marseille and Lyon highlighted as particularly tumultuous.