Dozens of youths went on a rampage, burning vehicles and vandalising buildings in a tough Paris suburb Friday in an act of rage following the death by electrocution of two teenagers trying to flee police.
Twenty-three cars were gutted by fire and the windows of a shopping centre were smashed in the riot in Clichy-sous-Bois, which finally ended before dawn. No arrests were made and there were no reports of injuries.
According to police, the violence erupted after two boys, aged 14 and 16, died when they scaled a wall of an electrical relay station and fell against a transformer.
The two had been trying to escape from police responding to the attempted
robbery of a nearby worksite, officers said. A third boy who had also jumped the wall was seriously hurt.
Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy said the three had not been "physically pursued" by the police.
He added that measures should be taken to counter such urban violence, and said he aimed to equip police cars with cameras and officers with "non-lethal weapons."
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