Over 1,300 people arrested after fourth night of rioting in France

Rioting and looting raged in cities around France for a fourth night despite a huge police deployment and 1,311 arrests, as family and friends prepared Saturday to bury the 17-year-old whose killing by police unleashed the unrest and forced the French president to cancel an important trip abroad.

France's Interior Ministry announced the new figure for arrests around the country, where 45,000 police officers fanned out in a so-far unsuccessful bid to quell days of violence that was triggered after the teen's death on Tuesday.

Despite an appeal to parents by President Emmanuel Macron to keep their children at home, street clashes between young protesters and police raged on. About 2,500 fires were set and stores were ransacked, according to authorities.

The violence in France was taking a toll on Macron's international commitments. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeir's office said that Macron phoned on Saturday to request a postponement of what would have been the first state visit by a French president to Germany in 23 years.

The trip, supposed to officially start on Monday, would have seen Macron travel to Berlin and two other German cities.