Police brace for more violence in Paris suburb

PARIS , Tuesday (AFP) French police braced late Monday for further violence in a restive Paris suburb following four straight nights of rioting there that have tested new get-tough government policies against urban crime.

Tensions continued to run high between officers and gangs of youths in the poor, high-immigration district of Clichy-sous-Bois, northeast of the capital, following the accidental death by electrocution Thursday of two teenagers..The situation was exacerbated late Sunday by the firing of a teargas grenade in the direction of a mosque which provoked widespread anger among the large Muslim community.

Since the riots erupted late Thursday, more than 20 officers have been hurt in clashes with youths, who have roamed at night in groups of up to a several hundred, setting fire to dozens of vehicles and trash cans.

After each night of rioting, calm returned to the suburb during daylight hours, with the burnt carcasses of vehicles and smashed windows the main legacy of the unrest.

More than two dozen people have been arrested, with 16 of them being convicted or facing imminent court verdicts on charges of hurling projectiles at police and refusing to obey lawful orders. Among those detained were four minors, who were to be brought before a children's court judge Tuesday.

Many of the youths targeting police were angry at the deaths of two boys, aged 15 and 19, who were electrocuted after they scaled the wall of an electrical relay station and touched a transformer.