France ends state of emergency

2006-01-03 13:41

Paris - President Jacques Chirac confirmed on Tuesday that France will lift a state of emergency imposed during three weeks of rioting and arson across the country.

The order was to take effect on Wednesday, ending the emergency measures more than six weeks earlier than originally planned.

"Considering the situation of these past several weeks, I decided to end it," Chirac said in a New Year's greeting to his centre-right cabinet, which was to approve the order later in the day.

The state of emergency revived a law born out of France's colonial era and allowed the use of curfews, night-and-day police searches inside homes and other measures. However, only a few towns and regions imposed curfews for minors; Paris did not.

- SAPA