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French riots spread wider Sun Nov 6, 2005 12:16 PM ET
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By Elisabeth Pineau and Brian Rohan PARIS (Reuters) - France's urban riots reached a new peak in their 10th night as petrol bombings spread from Paris's run-down suburbs to the center of the capital and began to unnerve neighboring countries. President Jacques Chirac summoned his security, social affairs and finance ministers to an emergency meeting at 1700 GMT to plot a response after 1,300 vehicles were destroyed in the latest night of chaos -- a new high. Chirac has mainly left public action to his prime minister and interior minister -- who have so far found no way beyond appeals and more police to control an explosion of unrest with complex social, economic and racial causes. Aides said Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin would make "concrete proposals" on tackling tough neighborhoods this week. Rioting began 10 days ago with the accidental electrocution of two youths apparently fleeing police. Their deaths ignited frustration among ethnic minorities over racism, unemployment, police treatment and their marginal place in French society. "This is too much, stop! Stop, do something else, but not this, not violence," sobbed a woman in Evreux, a normally quiet town in rural Normandy where a shopping mall, 50 vehicles, a post office and two schools were destroyed overnight. "My wife's out of a job now," fumed another resident. "I've two kids, a house to pay for and a car loan. What do I do now?" 1,300 CARS BURN Across France, 1,300 vehicles went up in flames. For the first time, more than 30 were destroyed inside the city walls of Paris. Previously quiet towns such as Dreux, to the west, and the city of Nantes were also affected. Authorities say drug traffickers and Islamist militants are helping to organize the unrest, via the Internet and mobile phones, among the North and black African immigrant communities who make up a significant part of many poor suburban housing estates. Police have drafted 2,300 extra officers to tackle the unrest in the capital, and seven helicopters buzzed over the region through the night, filming disturbances and directing mobile squads to incidents. Continued ... © Reuters 2005. All Rights Reserved.
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