France is experiencing a significant wave of civil unrest following the controversial police shooting of a 17-year-old known by his first name, Nahel. This event has instigated nationwide protests, resulting in more than 600 arrests, over 200 injured police officers, and many damaged public properties. Tracking key Telegram accounts will help you get an understanding of the potential risks and implications of the active crackdown on these ongoing protests.
Violent French Protests and Looting
Given the widespread and sometimes violent nature of these protests, there is an increased risk of physical harm to individuals and damage to property in the affected areas. For customers operating in or having assets in these regions, the immediate risk includes potential harm to employees, property damage, and disruptions to operations.
"The Mecanicus concession, located in Paris, was vandalized by robbers. A collection vehicle, a Lancia Fulvia Sport Zagato limited to 2,000 copies, was stolen and destroyed."
In addition, the protests have resulted in increased security measures, including the deployment of around 40,000 police officers and the use of tear gas, water cannons, and dispersion grenades. Such measures, while aimed at controlling the unrest, can inadvertently increase the risk to bystanders, including corporate personnel and assets.
The risk is further exacerbated for those traveling within or to the affected areas. There have been disruptions to public transportation services, with bus and tram services being shut down in some areas as a precaution. The unpredictability and volatility of the protests also pose a significant risk to personal safety during travel.
"Alert🚨Post taken for target in Lyon with an explosive"
According to OSINT reports, this is an active coordinated crackdown on rioters by the French National Police and the military civil force Gendarmerie.
Actionable Security Recommendations
Customers with interests in the country should consider the following steps to mitigate risks from this escalation:
Travel Advisory: Issue a travel advisory for employees and stakeholders, recommending they avoid non-essential travel to affected areas until the situation stabilizes.
Boost Physical Security: Encourage remote work (if possible) and staying in secure areas (where possible), especially for employees residing or working in areas heavily impacted by the protests.
Monitoring Telegram: Stay informed about the situation's development through tracking accounts distributing videos of the protests.
Using DigitalStakeout's Profile tracker, track updates from Telegram accounts https://t.me/s/lenouveaumedia and https://t.me/s/relaisinformation.
Using DigitalStakeout's location-based tracking, create a geo-fence over French geography. Search on-demand for new information in Locus and filter for protest/law enforcement terms and topics.
Caution About Misinformation
Amid the rapid dissemination of civil unrest and law enforcement activity videos on social media, it's critical to vet "new" and real geo-tagged information and intelligence. Verifying facts is a challenge in this tense and rapidly changing environment. Be diligent in your analysis and correlate "new" intelligence from established sources to confirm ground truth.