The French government yesterday held crisis talks with community leaders in an effort to halt mounting violence in suburbs around Paris, amid news that gangs of youths, mainly of North African descent, were intensifying attacks on police.| “These guys came to kill. They wore balaclavas, and had baseball bats and iron bars...” |
The three officers from the anti-crime brigade, BAC, entered the Orgemont housing estate after an anonymous caller reported a violent car theft. Once inside, their exit was barred and they were set upon by around 50 youths, who pelted the men with stones. Iron bars smashed their windscreen. They tried to reverse, but a second vehicle boxed them in. The criminals fled only after the officers fired live ammunition into the air and police reinforcements arrived. One of the officers, Christophe Estève, 30, had two teeth knocked out and needed 30 stitches in his jaw. He was discharged from hospital yesterday.