Shops looted, woman dead in France after Algeria football win

PARIS: Shops in central Paris were looted and a woman was killed in a high-speed car crash in southern France in what the government slammed Friday as “unacceptable” unrest following a key victory for Algeria’s national football team. Fans of the Algerian team flocked to the Champs-Elysees in central Paris and the Vieux Port area in Marseille late Thursday after their side defeated Ivory Coast on penalties to reach the semi finals of the Africa Cup of Nations. Two stores near the Champs-Elysees in Paris were looted, including a Ducati motorcycle shop where people took helmets, gloves and even bikes, an AFP journalist said. Police used tear gas to disperse thousands of people who had gathered in Paris. The same measures were used to scatter crowds in Marseille. “The damage and incidents last night on the sidelines of the celebrations... are unacceptable,” Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said in a tweet. “I hail the actions of the security forces in Paris and across the country to maintain order and contain the excesses,” he added. In total, 73 people were detained, the interior ministry said. Forty of the detentions came in Paris, where 10 minors were also detained.