Timeline of French riots

2005-11-07 17:00

Paris - The urban violence gripping France worsened on Monday, despite a vow from President Jacques Chirac to restore order.

The first fatality was recorded after a night in which police were shot at and 1 400 vehicles torched.

Here is a timeline of the unrest:

Wednesday, October 19:

Interior minister Nicolas Sarkozy declared a "war without mercy" on violence in the suburbs.

Tuesday, October 25:

During a visit to the Paris suburb of Argenteuil, Sarkozy was pelted with stones and bottles. He described rebellious youths in such districts as "rabble".

Thursday, October 27:

Two boys in the suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois, Bouna Traore, a 15-year-old of Malian background, and Zyed Benna, a 17-year-old of Tunisian origin, fled a police identity check. They scaled the wall of an electrical relay station and were electrocuted as they tried to hide near a transformer.

Youths in the suburb, hearing of the deaths, went on a rampage, burning 23 vehicles and vandalising buildings and hurling stones and bottles at riot police.

Friday, October 28:

Four hundred youths clashed with police in Clichy-sous-Bois, throwing stones, bottles and Molotov cocktails. Twenty-three officers were hurt and colleagues fired rubber bullets to push back mobs. Thirteen people were arrested and 29 vehicles were burned.

Saturday, October 29:

Five hundred people hold a silent march through Clichy-sous-Bois in memory of the dead teenagers.

Violence resumes at night. Twenty vehicles are burned. Nine people are detained, some of them for carrying hammers or petrol cans.

Sunday, October 30:

In renewed clashes, six police officers were hurt, 11 people were arrested and eight vehicles were torched. A police teargas grenade hits a mosque, prompting anger among Clichy-sous-Bois's large Muslim community.

Monday, October 31:

Clashes in Clichy-sous-Bois and surrounding suburbs. Nineteen people were arrested and 68 vehicles were torched.

Tuesday, November 1:

Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin met the families of the dead teenagers.

Riots and clashes erupted in several suburbs, north and west of Paris. Altogether, 180 vehicles were torched and 34 people arrested.

Wednesday, November 2:

President Jacques Chirac tells ministers "tempers must calm down."

Villepin and Sarkozy cancelled overseas trips to deal with the spreading violence.

Trouble erupted in 22 suburban towns north, south, east and west of Paris. A handicapped woman had severe burns after youths set a bus on fire. Police said 315 vehicles were torched and at least 15 people arrested.

Thursday, November 3:

A criminal investigation was opened into the deaths of the two teenagers.

Villepin vowed the government "will not give in" to the violence.

The riots resumed at night, but for the first time spread to other areas in France, Dijon, north of Marseille and Normandy. Seven cars were also set alight in central Paris.

In all, 517 vehicles were torched and another 78 people were arrested.

Friday, November 4: Arson hit-and-run attacks took place in suburbs around Paris and other French cities. A total of 897 vehicles were torched and more than 250 people arrested. A 61-year-old man was knocked into a coma by a hooded youth.

Saturday, November 5:

Paris prosecutor general Yves Bot said "we can see organised actions, a strategy" in the violence.

The rampages again took place in suburbs outside Paris and other cities. Some 349 people were arrested and more than 1 300 vehicles burned. Police used seven helicopters with lights and cameras to chase fast-moving youths who set fire to property then fled.

Sunday, November 6:

The violence worsened, and spreads even to remote areas. Police said 1 408 vehicles were destroyed and 395 people arrested. Two officers had head wounds after shots were fired at them, and another 30 were injured in clashes.

Monday, November 7:

The wife of the 61-year-old man hurt on Friday said he died on Monday from his injuries. She demanded that those responsible be "punished". The leader of the union of French magistrates said prosecutors can't cope with the flood of detainees.

The government decided to impose curfews, where necessary and called up 1 500 police reservists. Vandals burned some 1 170 cars and police arrested 330 people. Similar violence, though on a very small scale, was reported in neighbouring Germany and Belgium.

Tuesday, November 8:

Chirac's cabinet declared a state of emergency on the basis of a 1955 law drafted for Algeria's war for independence. The northern city of Amiens immediately used it to impose a night-time curfew for minors.

Two Paris suburbs, Savigny-sur-Orge and Raincy, and the town of Orleans brought in separate municipal curfews for minors. That night, police report 617 car-burnings and 300 arrests, bringing to 1 800 the total number of arrests since the start of the disturbances.

Wednesday, November 8:

Authorities said although there was still trouble, there was "a very significant drop" in its intensity.

In western France, the towns of Rouen, Le Havre declared nighttime curfews for minors, while the flashpoint town of Evreux imposed a general curfew in its tough districts.

- AFP