An officer who was examined for potential nerve agent exposure has been given the all-clear, police have revealed.

Russia's former security services chief Sergei Stepashin alleged the UK may be incapable of investigating the Skripals case and Amesbury poisoning incident on its own. He claimed that London will be best advised to look for leads "around Porton Down", where samples of 'Novichok' and other deadly chemicals are stored, and "drop the insane theory of Russia's culpability."

• Noam Chomsky on BDS: Israel would go so far as to use nuclear weapons to prevent Palestinian 'right of return'
• Jewish-Israeli activists hang portraits of murdered Gaza victims on apartheid wall, call for Palestinian right of return
• Gilad Atzmon: Palestinian Rights and the Jewish Solidarity Spin
• Israel's 'land for lives' is pure theft - No other words for it

"It's too much, I don't understand it," kebab-shop owner Yamina said, in shock as she inspected her burnt-out restaurant and car.

"They are burning our neighbourhoods when we are already poor," said another woman who did not want to give her name, though she also expressed anger at the police who "are never there".

A woman who filmed the incident, who wished to remain anonymous, said "there were no police behind the car, he didn't hit anyone. There was only the one gunshot".

The riot-hit districts of Nantes all have a history of gang violence.

In January, the government vowed a crackdown on urban violence after a shocking video emerged of a policewoman being beaten by a crowd in the Paris suburbs on New Year's Eve.

A parliamentary report released Tuesday showed high suicide rates within the police and warned about widespread low morale in the force.

In 2005, two teenagers of African origin were electrocuted while hiding from officers in the Paris suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois, sparking nationwide riots.

Anger over heavy-handed policing bubbled over again last year when a young black man in another Paris suburb suffered severe anal injuries during his arrest which were caused by a truncheon.

A French policeman who fatally shot a black man during a brawl with officers has been charged with manslaughter. The man's death has led to an outbreak of violence, with riots extending into their fourth day on Saturday.

[...]

However, the fact that formal charges have been brought against the policeman did not deter the protesters from further violence, which continued into the fourth day, with several more cars being burned on Saturday morning.

French authorities have made several attempts to placate the violence amid fears that it may spill over to other regions. French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe appealed to the disgruntled youth during his visit to Nantes on Thursday, promising "the fullest transparency" during the investigation of Fofana's death.