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Organized gangs behind French riots? PARIS, Nov. 4 (UPI) -- French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy has suggested organized gangs may be behind the violence sweeping Paris suburbs. "We were struck to see in departments -- notably Seine Saint Denis -- a large organization" behind the rioting that has swept the gritty suburbs ringing the French capital, Sarkozy told reporters Friday. "And all of this doesn't appear to us to be completely spontaneous," he added. "We're trying to work in depth on all of these subjects." Sarkozy's remarks echo those of other experts and law enforcement officials who believe criminal gangs...

MS: I'm actually thinking of going to Paris. I went to one of these suburbs that's currently ablaze three years ago. And what was interesting to me is I had to bribe a taxi driver a considerable amount of money just to take me out there. They're miserable places. But what was interesting to me is that after that, I then flew on to the Middle East, and I was in Yemen, and a couple of other places. And what was interesting to me was that I found more menace in the suburbs of Paris than I did in some...

AULNAY-SOUS-BOIS, France, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Rioters set fire to hundreds of vehicles in impoverished suburbs of northeastern Paris in an eighth night of unrest that spread for the first time to other parts of the capital and towns in France. Local officials said they had lost patience with the government. Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin and his rival, Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, opted for low profiles after days of squabbling over how to handle the crisis. Police reported fewer clashes than previous nights and residents said the Eid al-Fitr holiday ending Ramadan may have calmed areas with many Muslims...

Groups of youths hit Paris' riot-shaken suburbs with waves of arson attacks, torching hundreds of cars, as unrest entered its second week Friday and spread to other towns in France. In the eastern city of Dijon, teens apparently angered by a police crackdown on drug trafficking in their neighborhood set fire to five cars, said Paul Ronciere, the region's top government official. Overnight in the Paris region, 420 cars were set ablaze, up from previous nights, the Interior Ministry said... The unrest was led by "very numerous small and highly mobile groups," with arson attacks that destroyed 187 vehicles and...

A WEEK of suburban violence in France showed no sign of abating today after an eighth night of clashes and car-burning which for the first time spread beyond the capital. Police reported a total of 400 vehicles set alight by rioters, mostly in the poor neighbourhoods of the Paris outskirts where night-time confrontations with police have raged since October 27, but some also in Dijon, eastern France, Marseille to the south and Normandy in the north. Arsonists set fire to five businesses in the Seine-Saint-Denis district north and east of Paris city centre, completely destroying a large warehouse containing carpets...

Rioting Spreads to 20 Towns Around Paris By JAMEY KEATEN, Associated Press Writer Thu Nov 3, 2:55 PM ETAULNAY-SOUS-BOIS, France - Rampaging youths shot at police and firefighters Thursday after burning car dealerships and public buses and hurling rocks at commuter trains, as eight days of riots over poor conditions in Paris-area housing projects spread to 20 towns. Youths ignored an appeal for calm from President Jacques Chirac, whose government worked feverishly to fend off a political crisis amid criticism that it has ignored problems in neighborhoods heavily populated by first- and second-generation North African and Muslim immigrants.

After seven nights of riots by youth in predominantly-Muslim sections of Paris, French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin (who is a man) announced today that police would pull out of areas where dozens of cars burn each night to “let the freedom-fighting insurgents govern themselves.” “Just like the United States should not force democracy upon Muslims in Iraq,” said Mr. de Villepin, “we should not impose our own provincial thinking about the so-called ‘rule of law’ on Muslim immigrants who have established a homeland in Paris. We’re withdrawing our occupation forces immediately.” The Prime Minister, who, when he was Foreign...

Paris-Area Riots Gain Dangerous Momentum Friday November 4, 2005 3:46 AM By JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press Writer AULNAY-SOUS-BOIS, France (AP) - A week of riots in poor neighborhoods outside Paris gained dangerous new momentum Thursday, with youths shooting at police and firefighters and attacking trains and symbols of the French state. Facing mounting criticism, Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin vowed to restore order as the violence that erupted Oct. 27 spread to at least 20 towns, highlighting the frustration simmering in housing projects that are home to many North African immigrants. Unrest flared for an eighth straight night Thursday, though...

French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy said Thursday that the riots in several Paris suburbs over the previous night were "not spontaneous" but rather "well organized." "What we saw in the department of Seine-Saint-Denis overnight was not spontaneous, it was perfectly organized. We are looking into by whom and how," Sarkozy told French news channel i-tele. The interior minister also said the government would not allow "troublemakers, a bunch of hoodlums, think they can do whatever they want" in the country. A force of 1,000 police were assigned late Thursday to Seine-Saint-Denis, following the previous night of violence which affected about...