Hundreds of migrants with metal bars, planks of wood trash historic Paris train station
Confronting video has captured a violent street brawl involving hundreds of migrants attacking each other with metal poles and planks of wood at a Paris metro station.
Two sets of migrant groups attacked each other and set upon police, parked vehicles and pedestrians in two massive fights outside the Stalingrad Metro train station, in northeast Paris on Thursday night.
The shocking video shows hundreds of people hitting each other with planks of wood, metal bars and pieces of debris, before police fire tear gas canisters to stop the violence.
The mayhem is believed to have been in response to a man's arrest for being drunk and disorderly, Le Parisien newspaper reported.
The first brawl erupted at 9pm and “the situation gradually subsided,” according to police.
But after the authorities shut down the fight, “spirits again became very heated” and a second brawl broke out about 11:30pm.
It was reported Eritreans, Sudanese, and Afghans were among the thousands forcibly moved into Paris after the demolition of the Calais ‘Jungle’ camp.
Almost 1000 migrants first set up camp in early March, which was later removed, however several hundred migrants returned two weeks later, La Parisien reported.
The migrants had been provided government accommodation, according to the paper, however hundreds decided to camp out at the station on makeshift mattresses and set up tents.
A local resident said there had “never been violence until now” in the area, while police were “unaware” of the cause of the brawl.