French riots show signs of abating

PARIS – Curfews came into force in more than 30 French towns on Wednesday night, as the country’s worst unrest since May 1968 showed the first signs of abating following two weeks of rampages.

Speaking after a state of emergency took effect in worst-hit parts of the country, Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy said non-French nationals convicted over the riots would be deported, a move angrily condemned by rights groups. A sharp drop in violence on Tuesday night in major cities such as Lille, Nantes, Rennes and Strasbourg, raised hopes the riots may be receding, although car-burnings and other incidents still affected around 100 towns.Five out of 25 regional departments which have been given the power by the government to impose curfews have actually taken the step so far.Curfews have notably been declared in 21 towns and cities on the French Riviera, including Nice, as well as in Amiens north of Paris, in the western towns of Rouen, Le Havre and Evreux, and in the Loire Valley city of Orleans.The order bans unaccompanied children under 16 from leaving their homes between the hours of 10pm and 5am.Orleans, along with two Parisian suburbs, Raincy and Savigny-sur-Orge, used a different administrative procedure to declare local curfews on Tuesday night.No curfews were planned in Paris itself, which has largely been spared, or in the northeast Paris suburbs where the rioting began on October 27.Trouble in the region has tailed off the past three nights and on Wednesday evening, authorities described the situation northeast of Paris as “very calm”.One serious incident took place in the southwestern city of Toulouse, where a car was rammed into the grounds of a nursery school on the city outskirts before being set alight.- Nampa-AFPA sharp drop in violence on Tuesday night in major cities such as Lille, Nantes, Rennes and Strasbourg, raised hopes the riots may be receding, although car-burnings and other incidents still affected around 100 towns.Five out of 25 regional departments which have been given the power by the government to impose curfews have actually taken the step so far.Curfews have notably been declared in 21 towns and cities on the French Riviera, including Nice, as well as in Amiens north of Paris, in the western towns of Rouen, Le Havre and Evreux, and in the Loire Valley city of Orleans.The order bans unaccompanied children under 16 from leaving their homes between the hours of 10pm and 5am.Orleans, along with two Parisian suburbs, Raincy and Savigny-sur-Orge, used a different administrative procedure to declare local curfews on Tuesday night.No curfews were planned in Paris itself, which has largely been spared, or in the northeast Paris suburbs where the rioting began on October 27.Trouble in the region has tailed off the past three nights and on Wednesday evening, authorities described the situation northeast of Paris as “very calm”.One serious incident took place in the southwestern city of Toulouse, where a car was rammed into the grounds of a nursery school on the city outskirts before being set alight.- Nampa-AFP