An estate agent wept uncontrollably as she sifted through the remains of her looted office.
A devastated mum lifted her child’s burnt bike from a smoke stained second floor balcony.
And a defiant young woman shouted “f**k the police” as she was arrested on suspicion of torching a bank. It was a chaotic and dangerous weekend on the streets of the French capital.
After the funeral of Nahel Merzouk on Saturday I walked through the streets of Namerre again.
There were hundreds and hundreds of windows smashed in. Many belonged to banks, tax offices and council buildings.
But others were bakeries, cafes and small bars - all owned by families. Burnt out cars and lorries remained on the streets.
Scarred tarmac on the roads showed the evidence of numerous spontaneous fires. Hundreds of used tear gas canisters littered the area.
But behind the litter bins were piles of rubble, broken from pavements, hidden ready for the next attack on police.
The atmosphere is still incredibly tense.
Earlier today a small fire broke out in a park.
Suddenly a dozen heavily armed soldiers arrived on the scene.
They secured the area and threatened arrests before realising it was simply a tramp’s belongings going up in flames.
One British visitor had attended a Maroon 5 concert in La Defense arena.
Chris Knight emerged to the sounds off a cacophony of wailing sirens, the stench of burning offices and the sight of marauding rioters.
As he drank a pint in the Corcoran Irishpub nearby he said: “It’s surreal.
“One street is smashed up and broken and yet the next is completely untouched.”
Family calls for calm after weekend of violence
Nahel's grandmother, Nadia, issued a plea to rioters on Sunday to halt the disorder, telling BFM TV: "We don't want them to destroy shops, buses and schools,
"They are using Nahel as an excuse. We want things to calm down".
She added that she has confidence that the police officer will be punished by a court of law like anyone else.
On Saturday, the mayor of the southern Paris suburb of L'Haÿ-les-Roses, Vincent Jeanbrun, claimed his family were targeted by rioters in an apparent attempt on his life.
He said his wife and one of his children had been injured fleeing an attacker who rammed his house with a car and then set the car on fire.
Releasing a statement, he said a “milestone was reached in horror”, and branded it an assassination attempt.
Mr Jeanbrun appeared alongside French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne in a press conference on Sunday, where she stressed the French state's commitment to support local governments in the face of the violence.
Footage released on Sunday also showed him being consoled by local residents in L'Haÿ-les-Roses.
In an emotional moment, one woman told him: "I'm with you with all my heart. I send my regards to your wife."
The worst disorder overnight on Saturday to Sunday was in Marseille, where police fired tear gas and fought street battles with youths around the city centre late into the night.
Two policemen were set upon by a mob in Marseille, and ‘beaten to the ground like dogs,’ said French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin.
One was stabbed repeatedly, and the other suffered a fractured jaw, Mr Darmanin said.
French officials said 45 police officers had been injured, 74 buildings including 26 police stations damaged, and 577 vehicles set on fire.
There have also been arrests in Brussels as protests broke out in Switzerland and Belgium, with rioters in Brussels chanting ‘Justice for Nahel’.
Among those calling for calm over the weekend was France and Paris St Germain football star Kylian Mbappé, who said ‘the violence must end’.
A leaked police intelligence report in France has meanwhile described officers as being ‘at war with savage hordes of vermin’.
Two police unions threatened a revolt unless Emmanuel Macron’s government restored order.
"Today the police are in combat because we are at war," says the report. "Tomorrow we will enter resistance and the government should be aware of."
President Emmanuel Macron is expected to hold a special security meeting on Sunday night.
