Paris rioting puts racial tension on poll agenda

RIOTING at a major Paris train station, triggered by a ticket check, thrust security on to centre stage in France’s presidential campaign yesterday.
French police were bracing for fresh outbreaks of violence after hundreds of youths rioted over the arrest of an illegal immigrant at the Gare du Nord.
Rampaging youths, many apparently of African or North African origin, wielded metal bars, smashed windows, looted stores, set rubbish bins alight and smashed shop windows.

The violence erupted on Tuesday, during the evening rush hour, after ticket inspectors stopped a 33-year-old man for jumping over a barrier at the Gare du Nord Metro station. The man, described as an illegal immigrant with 22 convictions, allegedly head-butted an inspector.

Witnesses described holidaymakers cowering in fear after stepping off trains from London, Brussels and Amsterdam.

The violence was reminiscent of the riots that flared in Paris’s poor suburbs in 2005 when Nicolas Sarkozy, now a presidential candidate, was interior minister. Francois Baroin, who succeeded Mr Sarkozy this week, said that the rioters had used “urban guerilla” tactics.

A crime expert said it would take time to determine whether the looting and clashes would spark more widespread violence.

Eight train agents and a police officer were injured and 13 people were arrested.

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Paris rioting puts racial tension on poll agenda
The Australian