For the first time in nearly two weeks France saw a clear fall in the number of overnight attacks Wednesday, raising cautious hopes that the worst wave of urban unrest since May 1968 might be receding.
According to interior ministry figures, there were 617 car-burnings across the country, compared to more than 1,100 the night before. "It is a very significant drop," said Claude Gueant, a senior aide to interior minister Nicolas Sarkozy.
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However Gueant said that some 300 people were detained overnight across the country, bringing to around 1,800 the number of arrests since the start of the disturbances.
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Meanwhile, in neighboring Germany 11 vehicles were were set ablaze overnight Wednesday in the cities of Berlin and Cologne, while in Belgium 10 cars were torched in three towns, but it was unclear if there was any connection with the riots sweeping France. |