After a week of violence, French President Emmanuel Macron declared that he thought the country's rioting had reached its peak.
At a gathering of more than 200 mayors from the affected areas on Tuesday, he made the remarks.
The killing of teenager Nahel M. at a traffic stop outside of Paris on June 27 served as the catalyst for the protests.
The president claimed he was still "cautious," though.
He asked in a televised address, "Is the return to calm lasting? I will be careful, but the peak we experienced in recent days has passed.
Mr. Macron claimed that he had invited the mayors in order to express gratitude for the recent actions they had taken.
"If you're here, it's because you've been victimized," he continued. "Your families and loved ones have sometimes been victimized in an intolerable and unspeakable way.
His remarks come as the interior ministry reported that the amount of violence had decreased by half over the previous 24 hours.
In street fights, several people were hurt, including police officers, and a firefighter died on Sunday night while attempting to extinguish burning cars.
The riots are believed to have damaged public transportation in the Paris region alone to the tune of millions of euros, and hundreds of people have been detained.
After attackers attempted to set fire to the home of Vincent Jeanbrun, a suburban Paris mayor, and fired rockets at the official's fleeing wife and children, mayors across France staged protests on Monday calling for an end to the violence.
The office of the public prosecutor has opened a murder attempt investigation.
On Tuesday, Mr. Macron assured the mayors of his "full support" and promised to give them explanations for the recent events.
Public outrage over the police killing of Nahel M has returned, with people accusing the security forces of institutional racism. The 17-year-old's ancestry was Algerian.
It has also sparked a larger discussion about the role of the police and how the government interacts with residents of France's suburbs, who feel isolated from the nation's prosperous urban centers.
An officer of the law has been charged with voluntary homicide in connection with the death of Nahel M. He claimed that he shot because he thought his life was in danger.
