PARIS RIOTS MAPPED: Violence spreads to 20 areas ACROSS FRANCE
THE ongoing trouble in Paris which has led to riots in some parts of the capital is spreading across France as vigilantes stage running battles with police in protest of the rape of a young black man.
Rioters light FLARES as they continue to protest in Paris
And law enforcement say two weeks of civil unrest has now led to frenzied clashes in 20 districts.
Worryingly about 60 per cent of those involved in the street fights are children, police say.
As well as serious crime in at least 16 northern Paris suburbs, the confrontations have spread to Nantes in Brittany, Lille - the capital of the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region, and Rouen in Normandy where catholic priest Father Jacques Hamel was murdered while he was saying mass the altar last summer.
Related articles
The forces of order are targeted by bands of scoundrels
Police have been targeted with molotov cocktails, filmed being chased with cars, hit with steel poles, shot at, and even targeted using heavy metal balls from the French game Petanque. One person is even accused of using a gun, and has been charged with gunfire and voluntary violence.
Armed officers have taken to the streets in their hundreds and were forced to fire live rounds of bullets and used tear gas to disperse the rioters.
Chaos erupted after it emerged police anally raped a young black man named Theo with a baton.
The scandal, which has seen four police officers charged, sparked a series of legal protests. But a number a violent, illegal protests have also taken place, with trouble now nearing its third week.
Hundreds of cars have been torched, shops and banks smashed up, and even a disability vehicle was destroyed. A coach full of tourists from South Korea was targeted in northern Paris on Tuesday while a neighbourhood close to one of the busiest train stations in the city Gare Du Nord which houses the Eurostar train network was also hit.
Local reports suggest the popular Marais district in central Paris was also the scene of angry outbursts yesterday.
The north central Île-de-France region has been rapidly deteriorating with police confirming the violence is getting worse each night, according to broadsheet Le Figaro.
They also say those out in the streets appear to be teenagers as opposed to an older crowd who initially started the violence.
Police say 47 vehicles were burned on Valentines day compared to 34 on the 12th.
And 59 rubbish bins were torched compared to 21 on the same dates.
Scores of people have now been arrested after they went berzerk following the alleged rape and horrific abuse of a man identified as Theo on February 2.
Violence originally erupted in a council estate called Rose des Vents in Aulnay-Sous-Bois, which is also known locally as the 'city of 3000', over claims the Theo attack was racially motivated.
Aftermath of Paris rioting sees fires and damaged buildings
A judicial inquiry has now been launched into Theo's arrest with CCTV footage being analysed after Prime Minister Francois Hollande stepped into the debate.
However the fall out from the incident shows no signs of abating as individuals use the internet and mobile messaging services to organise vicious protests each evening.
While Francois Hollande has appealed for calm on the streets demanding the rioters cease, Front National candidate Marine Le Pen has gone further branding the radicals as scoundrels.
Calling the widespread incidents "a shame for France” she fumed: "The forces of order are targeted by bands of scoundrels.
“The government is silent. A silence that reflects both its cowardice and its impotence.”
