Garbage cans and cars were torched in Rennes, Brittainy, with incidents reported throughout the night and only settling down around 6am.
According to firefighters, a total of 17 trash cans and three vehicles were set alight. When one team of firefighters were putting out a trash can fire – after saving lives from an apartment fire – a group of young people began throwing stones at them.
Bus routes were also diverted due to objects being thrown at vehicles and bus shelters. At around 8pm, a group of 50 youngsters were taken into police custody in connection with the incidents.
In Yvelines, in the Ile-de-France region, a bottle containing acid was thrown into the courtyard of a police station in Yvelines, according to Le Parisien.
There were further attacks on officers across the departement. Molotov cocktails were thrown at officers in Trappes and Meulan, while a police officer in Carrière-sous-Possy was injured after a group of young people threw stones at him.
As in Rennes, there were also reports of arson; 22 garbage cans were reportedly set on fire in Yvelines between 8 and 11pm.
2016 has seen police demonstrations across the country against a surge of “anti-cop hatred” which they say they have suffered at a series of anti-government protests in recent months.
Police in France have said they are at breaking point with the country having been in a state of emergency for a year following jihadist terror attacks in Paris last November.
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