French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said Friday that the government was considering "all options" to restore order, including declaring a state of emergency, after a third night of unrest across the country.

French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne (L) speaks with police officers outside the police station in Evry-Courcouronnes south of Paris on June 30, 2023, following riots three days after a 17-year-old boy was shot in the chest by police at point-blank range in Nanterre, a western suburb of Paris. - A third consecutive night of violence in France sparked by the killing of a teenager by a policeman during a traffic stop has left 249 police and gendarmes injured, the interior ministry announced on June 30. Nahel M., 17, was shot in the chest at point-blank range on the morning of June 27, 2023, in an incident that has reignited debate in France about police tactics long criticised by rights groups over the treatment of people in low-income suburbs, particularly ethnic minorities. (Photo by Stefano RELLANDINI / POOL / AFP)

A state of emergency would give local authorities increased powers to declare localised curfews, ban demonstrations, and give police more freedom in restraining suspected rioters and searching homes.

Asked by reporters if a state of emergency was being considered, as some right-wing opposition parties have demanded, she replied: "I won't tell you now, but we are looking at all options, with one priority: restoring order throughout the country."

Borne, who was visiting a police station in Evry-Courcouronnes south of Paris, is to attend a crisis security meeting chaired by French President Emmanuel Macron at 1:00 pm (1100 GMT) on Friday.

The head of state was said by an aide on Friday to be prepared to adapt security measures "without taboos", suggesting tougher measures were under consideration.

During the last nationwide urban riots in 2005, the then right-wing government declared a state of emergency after around two weeks of clashes.

"We are calling for a curfew initially, then the imposition of a full state of emergency and the mobilisation of all the forces of law and order in the country," spokesman for the far-right National Rally Sebastien Chenu told the LCI television channel on Friday.

"Right now we're at the bottom of a cliff and we need to be extremely tough," he added.

The head of the right-wing Republicans party, Eric Ciotti, called for a state of emergency on Thursday.

"The nation cannot waver in any circumstances," he said.

© Agence France-Presse