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French police fight running battles with youths in Paris suburb

French police fought running battles Saturday night in a poor suburb northwest of Paris with groups of young men who burnt a circus school and wounded two officers, the authorities said Sunday.

French police fight running battles with youths in Paris suburb
Image: Pierre RATEAU / AFPTV / AFP

The trouble, which is said to be related to the pending demolition of a building block in the disadvantaged neighbourhood of Noe, started with youngsters throwing Molotov cocktails in the evening, according to a police source.

When officers arrived, they were attacked with projectiles and targeted with fireworks.

At the height of the confrontation, police were facing off with a group of about 30 men, said the source.

Two police members sustained light injuries. In the foray, the troublemakers burnt a circus tent, which its operator said had cost about 800,000 euros ($894,000) and where children from deprived backgrounds were being trained in the circus arts. Two suspects were arrested.

Interior Minister Christophe Castaner described the acts on Twitter as “cowardly and foolish”, and said he was confident the police would identify and catch those who got away.

Mayor Catherine Arenou said the suburb had been caught for days in the grip of criminal acts by youngsters in the Noe neighbourhood who keep smashing the street lights.

The mayor said a youth information centre in the neighbourhood was also targeted on Saturday night, with petrol found inside and traces of an attempted fire.

A police source said the violence had been sparked by the planned demolition of an apartment building which “threatens the underground economy” run by criminal gangs in the neighbourhood.

The planned demolition is part of an urban reconstruction programme, according to the mayor.

In April last year, a nursery school in the Noe neighbourhood was set ablaze, prompting local authorities to raise concerns about the plight of Paris’ needier suburbs.

A report in June said rising property prices had widened the gap between rich and poor in the Paris region, where the number of people living in poverty has increased.

The Ile de France, with Paris at its centre, accounts for 30 percent of the national economy and is also home to the biggest immigrant population.

Average income fell while unemployment and the foreign-born population grew in 44 areas, mostly far-flung suburbs encircling the French capital, from 2001 to 2015.

The highly qualified and managerial classes mainly occupy central Paris and its wealthy western suburbs.

Member comments

  1. So we have data on poverty, crime rate, demographics and …so what is the plan? As a species, humans seem incapable or unwilling to solve basic social problems. We need strong leadership and informed decision-making to reduce poverty and crime. Obviously a generous social welfare safety net, plenty of police and universal access to a first world educational system are not the answers. What is? Hint: Personally I find population density is a factor. People from overpopulated countries move to a less populated country where high density areas are created and those nasty social density problems start all over again. One need only look to the animal kingdom for a similar model .

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PARIS

Fluffy nuisance: Outcry as Paris sends Invalides rabbits into exile

Efforts to relocate wild rabbits that are a common sight on the lawns of the historic Invalides memorial complex have provoked criticism from animal rights groups.

Fluffy nuisance: Outcry as Paris sends Invalides rabbits into exile

Tourists and Parisians have long been accustomed to the sight of wild rabbits frolicking around the lawns of Les Invalides, one of the French capital’s great landmarks.

But efforts are underway to relocate the fluffy animals, accused of damaging the gardens and drains around the giant edifice that houses Napoleon’s tomb, authorities said.

Police said that several dozen bunnies had been captured since late January and relocated to the private estate of Breau in the Seine-et-Marne region outside Paris, a move that has prompted an outcry from animal rights activists.

“Two operations have taken place since 25 January,” the police prefecture told AFP.

“Twenty-four healthy rabbits were captured on each occasion and released after vaccination” in Seine-et-Marne, the prefecture said.

Six more operations are scheduled to take place in the coming weeks.

Around 300 wild rabbits live around Les Invalides, according to estimates.

“The overpopulation on the site is leading to deteriorating living conditions and health risks,” the prefecture said.

Authorities estimate the cost of restoring the site, which has been damaged by the proliferation of underground galleries and the deterioration of gardens, pipes and flora, at €366,000.

Animal rights groups denounced the operation.

The Paris Animaux Zoopolis group said the rabbits were being subjected to “intense stress” or could be killed “under the guise of relocation”.

“A number of rabbits will die during capture and potentially during transport,” said the group, accusing authorities of being “opaque” about their methods.

The animal rights group also noted that Breau was home to the headquarters of the Seine-et-Marne hunting federation.

The police prefecture insisted that the animals would not be hunted.

In 2021, authorities classified the rabbits living in Paris as a nuisance but the order was reversed following an outcry from animal groups who have been pushing for a peaceful cohabitation with the animals.

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