Topic: Nantes

The French city of Nantes has experienced four days of violent riots following the police shooting of a young man during a traffic stop. The man, who was wanted for organized robbery, reportedly hit an officer with his car before being killed. Protesters have set fire to a local courthouse and dozens of vehicles in what are described as "poor migrant neighborhoods."

French comedian Dieudonné Mbala Mbala has been banned from performing his show after the government characterized his "quenelle" hand gesture as an inverted Nazi salute. Dieudonné maintains the gesture is anti-establishment rather than anti-Semitic and has filed a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights. The ban has sparked a debate over the limits of free speech in France and whether the government's actions are providing the comic with more publicity.