French clashes this week unlikely to lead to scenes like 2005 riots - minister

French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said on Thursday that he did not think that this week's outbreak of violent clashes in French housing estates would result in scenes similar to the 2005 riots that broke out throughout the country.

"We are not in this sort of scenario," Castaner told BFM TV.

Stringent restrictions on public movements ordered by President Emmanuel Macron to tackle the coronavirus have exacerbated tensions in the low-income neighborhoods around the capital, with clashes having broken out this week.