RIOT cops fled gunfire as a "war" sparked by the police killing of a teenager plunged France deeper into chaos today.
A mob was also reported to have grabbed hunting rifles as they looted a gun shop on on Friday night.
Police armoured cars and heavily armed paramilitary units were moving to confront gangs cutting a swathe of devastation across the nation.
But street strife is expected to escalate further following today's funeral of Nahel Merzouk - the 17-year-old whose shooting at the wheel of his car triggered the crisis.
Tension soared as thousands of mourners thronged the Muslim service for the French Algerian youth said to have been “executed” by a single shot on Tuesday.
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An Interior Ministry source said: “France has not seen nationwide unrest on this scale since World War II - it is out of control.”
Anti-police fury spiralled further as a leaked police intelligence report today said: “We are at war with savage hordes of vermin.”
Police had made a further 1,300 arrests by early this morning after four nights of chaos as Macron appeared increasingly powerless.
MACRON BLASTED
Unpopular Macron - blasted for dancing at an Elton John gig as trouble erupted - postponed a state visit to Germany on Saturday in a belated attempt to get a grip.
He has already dispatched 45,000 cops across the nation and begged parents to stop children as young as 13 joining the mobs.
Macron said Nahel's death was being used to justify wanton violence and destruction, calling the mob rampage "unacceptable exploitation of the adolescent's death".
French soccer superstar Kylian Mbappé - who condemned the killing on Tuesday - yesterday issued a plea for calm, pleading in a tweet: “The violence must end.”
GUNMAN BLASTS COPS
Mobs hurling missiles, Molotov cocktails and fireworks left buildings and cars ablaze across the capital as well as Lyon, Grenoble and Marseilles and immigrant suburbs across the country.
One of the most serious incidents was reported in Lyon where police were forced to flee a gunman who opened fire on them as they entered a council estate.
An officer in the suburb of Villeurbanne - where cops moved in after rioters torched tower blocks early yesterday said: “We were forced to flee - it was a matter of life and death.
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“Three officers suffered minor wounds, but it could have been far worse.
“We were forced to shoot back with a tear gas grenade launcher, at the risk of tearing a rioter’s head off.”
Officers suffered wounds to the legs and groin, prompting a local police spokesman to say: “We have crossed a red line.
“We've not seen this kind of thing before here, and it's of deep concern.”
GUN SHOP RAID
A gun shop in the southern port of Marseilles was among hundreds of businesses looted as disorder snowballed yesterday.
A police spokesman said: “A mob ransacked the shop and got away with around eight hunting rifles.”
Posh Paris designer shops were plundered along with sports stores and supermarkets as overwhelmed police stood powerless to intervene.
Youths ransacked shops and other businesses between Friday and Saturday - including a giant Carrefour supermarket in the Paris suburb of Drancy.
Angry mobs later clustered around the funeral of gun victim Nahel in the north-west Paris suburb of Nanterre, where he died at the wheel of a yellow Mercedes AMG sports car.
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The unprecedented street strife forced the UK Foreign Office to warn British tourists for the first time about the dangers of travelling in France.
British translator Robert Cheyne, 35, arrived in Montpellier in southern France on Thursday on holiday - and saw police doing nothing to stop rampaging mobs.
Robert said: “My friends and I were just walking into dinner when we heard this crowd of people.
“It was like a wave of very unhappy people came in as we got caught up in the middle.
“It did get a bit hairy - it was a bit of a shock and I was surprised how young the rioters were - all in their teens or early 20’s.
“There was a lot of shouting and yelling against the police, with lots of people chucking barriers from construction sites but the police were doing nothing.
“They weren’t intervening to prevent the rioters at all.
“We didn’t realise it would come down to the south. It seems to have spread really quickly.”
'AT WAR' WITH RIOTERS
Macron’s woes escalated as it was revealed two police unions threatened a revolt unless his government restored order.
A union spokesman said: "Today the police are in combat because we are at war - tomorrow we will enter resistance and the government should be aware.”
France increasingly appeared to be moving onto a war footing last night as police armoured cars appeared at trouble spots and heavily armed paramilitary units took up position.
Buses and train services remained shut down, while local mayors imposed curfews.
The French government announced this weekend that all major public gatherings would be banned.
Police gun victim Nahel lived with his mother, Mounia, on a council estate in Nanterre.
Mourners yesterday queued to view his open coffin before it was taken to the Ibn Badis mosque then on to the Mont Valérien Cemetery for burial.
The teenager - who was too young to hold a full licence in France and was said to have disobeyed previous police orders to stop his car - was shot in the chest at point-blank range.
Officers said he was driving “fast” in a bus lane in the Polish-registered Merc while ignoring the blue flashing lights and endangered a pedestrian and a cyclist.
He was shot after ignoring further challenges to stop after his car came to a halt in traffic.
A 38-year-old officer who fired the gun identified as Florian M has been charged with murder and was in custody.
Lawyers acting for Nahel’s mum Mounia have accused the cop of “cold blooded murder”.
Street clashes have been fired up by claims that the teenager’s death reflects widespread police racism and discrimination against ethnic groups.
Disorder has erupted at the height of the holiday season in France - which is visited by more than 12 million Brits every year.
The UK Foreign Office updated its travel advice on Friday urging travellers to monitor reports and avoid trouble spots.
The advice read: “Since 27 June, riots have taken place across France. Many have turned violent. Shops, public buildings and parked cars have been targeted.
“Some local authorities may impose curfews. Locations and timing of riots are unpredictable.
“You should monitor the media, avoid areas where riots are taking place, check the latest advice with operators when travelling and follow the advice of the authorities.”
A Foreign Office spokesman said yesterday: "The safety of British nationals is always our main concern in determining our travel advice.
“Our travel advice is just that – advice. It provides information to help British nationals make informed decisions.
“But we cannot enforce it and it remains a decision for individuals whether they feel it is safe for them to travel to a particular country.”
