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Mystery Surrounds New French Riot
Sunday night saw France's worst riots since Autumn 2005. 21 police officers were injured in six hours of rioting in the banlieu town of Villiers-le-Bel following the deaths of two youths whose motorcycle collided with a police car.
The circumstances of the boys' deaths are not clear. Early reports put their ages at 15-16, though others say they were closer to 13. Police say they were not pursuing the youths, and claim that their bike crashed into the police car at an intersection. There were reports this morning that the youths were not wearing crash helmets and that their motorcycle was stolen.
An image from France 2 television news shows the badly damaged police car: The collision seems to have taken place at some speed.
However, locals on the scene at 17.00 (when the accident took place) contradict police reports. Some report officers fled the scene; others say the police were chasing the youths, in scenes reminiscent of those which sparked 2005's riots, when two young men were electrocuted after hiding from police in an electricity substation.
Later reports name the boys as Moushin (15) et son ami Larami (16).
Early reports from the investigation seem to bear out police claims that they were not pursuing the youths, reports Le Monde. The investigators have found two witnesses who claim that the motocross motorcycle was travelling at between 40-50km and hit the policecar without signalling. The police drivers tested negative for alcohol.
It is worth noting that riots in France's deprived areas can begin on little or no evidence of wrongdoing by police. Youngsters blame their hopeless condition (unemployment can run as high as 40 percent) on the French state; they believe they are victimised by racist cops). As this year's riot in Paris's Gare du Nord station showed, there are few reliable witnesses under such circumstances.
Residents of the grim Colinette neighbourhood where the riots took place complained that police did not intervene to stop property being burnt by arsonists. Numerous cars were burnt out and it is reported that the town's police station and that of a neighbouring town were ransacked by rioters. A service station was burnt out, along with shops on the main road. Rioters also attempted to destroy the town's railway station, but it had been closed as a precaution.
Police and fire brigades in Villiers-le-Bel, around 20km from Paris, remain on high alert.
Also in the Paris region: A 23 year old student was stabbed to death on a suburban RER train near Creil. She was found in a carriage of the RER D line just before midnight with over 30 stab wounds to her chest and face. She died soon afterwards.
A suspect, who shows signs of injuries himself, has been placed under surveillance in hospital. The man is known to police for a sex attack which took place in the 1990s.
