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Unrest reaches Paris on 10th night of riots

PARIS - The urban unrest that triggered scores of arson attacks on vehicles, nursery schools and other targets from the Mediterranean to the German border reached Paris overnight, with police saying early Sunday that 13 cars were burned Paris.

By 1 a.m. Paris time, at least 607 vehicles across France were burned during the 10th night of violence, said Patrick Hamon, spokesman for the national police. The overall figures were expected to climb by daybreak, he added.

The violence - originally concentrated in neighborhoods northeast of Paris with large immigrant populations - has spread across France. Attacks were reported in Cannes and Nice.

The Normandy town of Evreux appeared to suffer the worst damage Saturday. Arsonists there burned at least 50 vehicles, part of a shopping center, a post office and two schools, Hamon said.

Five police officers and three firefighters were injured battling the blazes, he said.

The unrest is forcing France to confront long-simmering anger in its suburbs, where many Africans and their French-born children live on society's margins, struggling with unemployment, poor housing, racial discrimination, crime and a lack of opportunity.

Police deployed a helicopter and tactical teams to chase down youths speeding from one attack to another in cars and on motorbikes. Some 2,300 police were brought into the Paris region to bolster security, France-Info said. More than 250 people were arrested.

The violence erupted Oct. 27 following the accidental electrocution of two teenagers who hid in a power substation, apparently believing police were chasing them.

The unrest reached Paris late Saturday. Hamon had no immediate information on the neighborhoods where the vehicles were torched. Paris police headquarters said three cars were damaged by fire in the Republique section, northeast of City Hall.

"It's copycat acts," Hamon said. "All these hoodlums see others setting fires and say they can do it, too."

On Saturday morning, more than 1,000 people protested the violence at a march through the Paris suburb of Aulnay-sous-Bois.

[Last modified November 6, 2005, 02:15:12]