Paris – Youths torched cars and threw stones at police in one Paris suburb and set two classrooms on fire in another, authorities said Tuesday, as unrest spread after the deaths of two teenagers last week.
Suburbs that ring France’s big cities suffer soaring unemployment and are home to immigrant communities, often from Muslim North Africa. Disenchantment and anger run high.
Police said that 13 people had been jailed and 21 cars burned in the most recent rioting, which began late Monday in the northeastern suburb of Clichy- sous-Bois and three other suburbs in the same region.
Clashes initially erupted Thursday after two teenagers were accidentally electrocuted as they hid from police in a power substation.
The unrest has highlighted security problems plaguing France’s big-city suburbs despite government pledges over the years to tackle unemployment, delinquency and drug trafficking.
Criticism mounted against Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy after his tough talk about restoring order to Paris suburbs, with a fellow Cabinet member saying “warlike” words would not help bring calm.
The mayor of the suburb of Sevran said youths set two rooms of a primary school on fire, along with several cars. Three officers were slightly injured there, police said.
“These acts have a direct link to the events in Clichy-sous- Bois,” Mayor Stephane Gatignon said in a statement.
The teens killed Thursday night, ages 15 and 17, thought they were being chased by police. Officials have said police were not pursuing the boys.
