Second night of riots in Paris’ suburb

(26 Nov 2007) SHOTLIST NIGHT SHOTS 1. Various of riot police and the scene of clashes with debris strewn 2. Rubbish truck on fire 3. Various of riot police 4. Police car on fire 5. Various of riot police firing tear gas 6. Various of burning police car 7. Fire engine arriving 8. Fire fighter putting out blaze in car 9. Various of riot police firing tear gas 10. Various of tear gas filled air 11. Wide of burning debris on the street 12. People crossing street in front of burning debris 13. Riot police on foot 14. Police vans lined up on the street 15. Smoking wreckage of burnt out car 16. Various of clashes between police and protesters 17. Various of riot police charging protesters 18. Various of riot police firing tear gas at protesters 19. Various of the scene of clashes with protesters in the background 20. Cars stopping at a police checkpoint 21. Police vans on street 22. Wide of scene of clashes STORYLINE: Youths threw petrol bombs and set fire to cars in the Villiers-le-Bel neighbourhood of Paris on Monday, after two local teenagers were killed when their motorcycle crashed with a police car. In the second night of rioting, a police car and a rubbish truck were set alight by petrol bombs. Rioters were seen firing buckshot at police, who responded by firing teargas. President Nicolas Sarkozy, visiting China, appealed for calm, while police braced for more clashes on Monday night. With more than 20 police officers injured and two police stations attacked in a first night of rioting on Sunday, the violence was a reminder of the tensions that drove weeks of rioting in 2005 in poor neighbourhoods with large ethnic minority populations. Anger focused on police, with residents claiming that officers left the scene of Sunday’s crash without helping the two teens whose motorbike collided with their car. Investigators were still trying to piece together exactly what happened in the Sunday afternoon crash in Villiers-le-Bel, a town of public housing blocks home to a mix of Arab, black and white residents in the French capital’s northern suburbs. Police officials said the motorbike ignored traffic rules and crashed into the police vehicle, and that the bike was unregistered and thus not authorised for use on French roads. Neither of the teens - aged 15 and 16 - was wearing a helmet, and the prosecutor’s office said the bike was going at maximum speed. The internal police oversight agency opened an inquiry into whether the deaths were manslaughter and the officers failed to help the teens, a police official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media. An alcohol test showed that neither of the officers had been drinking, and initial inquiries suggested they did not appear to have caused the crash, police said. Villiers-le-Bel was on edge again on Monday for a second night, with a police car and a garbage truck set on fire, and more petrol bombs thrown in a neighbourhood of housing projects. In Sunday’s violence, eight people were arrested and 21 police officers were injured, including the town’s police chief, who was beaten when he tried to negotiate with the rioters, police said. Also on Sunday, witnesses said, police fired rubber pellets at youths. Residents drew parallels with the 2005 riots. That unrest was prompted by the deaths of two teens electrocuted in a power substation while hiding from police in a suburb northeast of Paris. Find out more about AP Archive: Twitter: Facebook: ​​ Instagram: You can license this story through AP Archive: