Paris: Gang of youths torch bus
Police moved into a Paris suburb today after 30 youths burned an empty bus in broad daylight.
No one was injured in the bus attack at about 2pm in the town of Grigny, in the Essonne region south of Paris. One person was detained.
The incident occurred nearly a year after three weeks of fiery riots by poor suburban youths and follows nearly half a dozen incidents in recent weeks in which suburban youths have attacked police officers, in some cases in deliberate ambushes. The incidents have raised tensions ahead of Friday’s anniversary of the riots.
It is not uncommon for restless youths to burn vehicles in towns around France. Such incidents occur most often under the cover of night.
Firemen rushed to the scene and police secured the Grande Borne neighbourhood of Grigny. Order was quickly restored.
The riots last year laid bare rampant discrimination in the housing projects surrounding France’s big cities where many French people of immigrant origin live, separated from mainstream life.
The French government has since provided funds and enacted measures to reverse the situation. But the problem remains entrenched, and there are no concrete signs that violence has diminished.
Yesterday, five people were being investigated for attempted murder in relation to an October 13 ambush in the town of Epinay-sur-Seine, north of Paris, in which police were lured to a housing estate then attacked by about 30 youths. One officer hit by a rock required 30 stitches to the face.
