13 Cars Torched As Unrest Reaches Paris

By 1 a.m., at least 607 vehicles were burned—including those in Paris, said Patrick Hamon, spokesman for the national police. The overall figures were expected to climb by daybreak, he added.

The violence—originally concentrated in neighborhoods northeast of Paris with large immigrant populations—has spread across France during the past 10 nights, extending west to the rolling fields of Normandy and south to resort cities on the Mediterranean.

In the Normandy town of Evreux, arsonists burned at least 50 vehicles, part of a shopping center, a post office and two schools, Hamon said.

Five police officers and three firefighters were injured battling the blazes, he said.

The unrest is forcing France to confront long-simmering anger in its suburbs, where many Africans and their French-born children live on society's margins, struggling with unemployment, poor housing, racial discrimination, crime and a lack of opportunity.

The violence that began Oct. 27 in a suburb northeast of Paris took an alarming turn late Saturday when arsonists struck in the French capital.

Hamon had no immediate information on the Paris neighborhoods where the vehicles were torched. Paris police headquarters said three cars were damaged by fire in the Republique section, northeast of City Hall.

Hamon called the spreading arson "copycat" acts by vandals.

"It's copycat acts," he said. "All these hoodlums see others setting fires and say they can do it, too."

Evreux, 60 miles to the west, appeared hardest hit by marauding youths. The number of vehicles burned likely would top 50, Hamon said.

The burning of the shopping center showed that "there is a will to pillage," Hamon said. "This has been true since the start," referring to grocery stores, video stores and other businesses that have been set afire.

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Associated Press reporter John Leicester in Acheres contributed to this report.

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