French youths riot for seventh night running PARIS (Reuters) - Violence broke out in Paris suburbs for the seventh night running overnight on Thursday after French youths set fire to dozens of cars.
The continuing unrest compounds pressure on Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin's government, which has promised to restore order but is battling to paper over differences between ministers over the best way to tackle the unrest.
Youths went on the rampage in a total of nine areas in poor suburbs ringing the French capital to the north and the east, setting alight about 40 cars, two buses, and dustbins, a local authority official said.
Hundreds of police were deployed to control the disturbances, which also damaged a shopping centre in Bobigny, to the northeast of Paris, and to at least one primary school.
Unrest was first sparked in Clichy-sous-Bois last week after two teenagers were electrocuted while apparently fleeing police during a local disturbance.
It has since spread to other areas in the Parisian suburbs, forcing itself to the top of the government's agenda and prompting Villepin to cancel a trip to Canada on Wednesday.
Media attention on the unrest has been intense because it highlighted the bitter rivalry between Villepin and Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy ahead of 2007 presidential elections, particularly after Sarkozy called the protesting youths "scum".
Equal Opportunities Minister Azouz Begag has openly criticised Sarkozy while Villepin took a calculated swipe on Wednesday at the strong language used by the interior minister when he stressed the need to avoid stigmatising such areas.
The opposition has seized on such signs of discord and accused the government of drift and of failing to tackle the underlying reasons for the riots.
The unrest in the northern and eastern suburbs, heavily populated by North African and black African minorities, have been fuelled by frustration among youths in the area over their failure to get jobs and recognition in French society.