The Seventh Day of Rioting in the Paris Suburbs

Despite the appeal for calm made by President Jacques Chirac, dozens of vehicles were torched yesterday in the Paris suburbs, marking the seventh night of rioting.

The clashes broke out on October 27 in Clichy-sous-Bois, after the death of two boys, with ages of 15 and 19 respectively. They were electrocuted by high-voltage equipment in an electricity substation.

Their families have said that the two boys took refuge in this location after being pursued by the police, but the police representatives declined these accusations.

According to the city hall spokesman, last night in Aulnay-sous-Bois, a suburb near Clichy-sous-Bois, the young rebels attempted to set fire to the police station, after successfully torching a Renault showroom. Aside from these, the gangs also set fire to garbage containers and destroyed bus shelters.

The violence reflects tensions in ghettos, marked by youth unemployment, poverty and large Muslim communities in the majority Catholic nation, Bloomberg noted.

The clashes have outlined the rivalry between the Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy and France's Prime-minister Dominique de Villepin, who has cancelled a trip to Canada because of the suburb incidents.