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More unrest hits Paris streetsMinisters under growing pressure to stem the violence
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QUICKVOTEYOUR E-MAIL ALERTSPARIS, France (CNN) -- Paris was hit by an eighth night of unrest Thursday with youths setting fire to cars despite the presence of more than 1,000 riot police on the streets. Reuters reports rioters set fire to about 50 vehicles, dashing hopes that the beginning of Muslim festivities marking the end of Ramadan would quell the rioters. However, Reuters reports police saying the situation was a little calmer, but also that gangs of roaming youth were threatening more violence later in the night. "It seems a bit calmer than previous nights but about 50 vehicles have been torched since nightfall," a police spokesman in the Seine Saint Denis area told Reuters. This compares with the approximately 300 vehicles which were torched a night earlier. The Associated Press reports an "uneasy calm" had descended over the city early Friday morning. Meanwhile, French ministers were under growing pressure Thursday to deal with the unrest in the impoverished areas north and east of the French capital. The violence was triggered last week by the electrocution deaths of two teenagers. The top government official in the Seine-Saint-Denis region north of Paris, where the violence has been concentrated, confirmed that four shots had been fired at police and fire crews in several overnight incidents. "Four live bullets were fired," Reuters quoted Jean-Francois Cordet as telling reporters. "Two shots were fired at La Courneuve against police. One shot was fired at Noisy-le-Sec against fire crews, and one shot was fired against fire crew in Saint-Denis." No injuries were reported in the shootings, which appeared to mark an escalation of in the level of violence. But Cordet said four officers and two firefighters were hurt overnight, including one burned on the face by a petrol bomb. Police detained 29 people, and 23 were still being held, he said. A police union official proposed establishing a curfew and bringing in the military to help handle the rioting, while some members of the opposition Socialist Party have suggested the police should withdraw from the communities to quell the unrest. The continuing violence adds pressure to Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, who cancelled a trip to Canada to tackle the situation and soothe a public row between his ministers over the government's response. On Thursday, de Villepin called a series of emergency meetings with officials throughout the day, including a working lunch with Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy. The situation has sparked a war of words between de Villepin and Sarkozy, his political rival ahead of 2007 presidential elections. Speaking to parliament Wednesday, de Villepin demanded punishment for lawbreakers but used calmer language than that used by Sarkozy, who has been criticized for calling the protesting youths "scum." "Let's avoid stigmatizing areas .... let's treat petty crime differently to major crime, let's fight all discrimination with firmness, and avoid confusing a disruptive minority with the vast majority of youngsters who want to integrate into society and succeed," he said. Earlier Wednesday, President Jacques Chirac called for calm and warned of a "dangerous situation" in the capital's suburbs. "The law must be applied firmly and in a spirit of dialogue and respect," Chirac told a Cabinet meeting Wednesday. "The absence of dialogue and an escalation of a lack of respect will lead to a dangerous situation." "Zones without law cannot exist in the republic," Chirac said. His remarks were passed on to reporters by government spokesman Jean-Francois Cope. The spokesman said Chirac acknowledged the "profound frustrations" of troubled neighborhoods but said violence was not the answer and that efforts must be stepped up to combat it, AP reported. All but forgottenThe rioting began last Thursday in Clichy-sous-Bois after two teenagers were accidentally electrocuted and a third was injured while apparently trying to escape from police by hiding in a power substation. Officials have said police were not chasing the boys. But the original cause has been all but forgotten as residents of other communities -- weary of poverty, unemployment and discrimination against the large immigrant and Muslim populations -- have vented their frustration. In some areas, unemployment runs as high as 20 percent -- more than twice the national average, de Villepin told lawmakers. Jean-Louis Borloo, minister for social cohesion, said officials need to react "firmly" to the unrest but that France also must acknowledge its failure to deal with decades of simmering anger in the impoverished suburbs of Paris. "We cannot hide the truth: that for 30 years we have not done enough," he told France-2 television, AP reported. Borloo also urged people not to have a one-sided view of the suburbs. "One must not think for one second that this is the life of these neighborhoods," Reuters quoted him as saying. "They are an integral part of our country. It is in these neighborhoods that most companies are being founded." CNN's Jim Bittermann contributed to this report Copyright 2005 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report. 
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