Following the thirteenth night of Paris riots, the French government declared yesterday a state of emergency, announces AP.

Empowered by the new security measures, the police forces consisting of 9,500 officers will have the right to put troublemakers under house arrest, ban or limit the movement of people and vehicles, confiscate weapons and close public spaces where gangs gather, Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin said.

Still, the rebels, most of them Muslims, torched 573 vehicles and two superstores last night.

"We must be lucid: The Republic is at a moment of truth'', Villepin told the Parliament.

Despite the fact that the majority of the rebels are born from Arab immigrants and black Africans, police said that the Islamic groups are not behind the acts of violence.

Police faced "determined individuals, structured gangs, organized criminality" and said that restoring order "will take time", which has made many wonder who is behind these riots.

The emergency state was first instated during the Independence War in Algeria and was last used during the rioting in the French Pacific Ocean territory of New Caledonia.