PARIS, June 16 — Youths set fire to vehicles and dustbins in the French city of Dijon overnight, in a fourth night of trouble in the city that led to French police intervening to restore order.
Clashes have broken out in recent months amid some of the high-rise, low-income housing estates across France as strict lockdown rules imposed earlier to tackle the coronavirus exacerbated social tensions.
Interior security minister Laurent Nunez is due to go to Dijon today to monitor the situation, while farming minister Didier Guillaume said the violence was “unacceptable”.
“It’s a lot, it is too much. We cannot accept this,” Guillaume told C News TV.
Local French media said violence had broken out initially over the weekend between rival gangs of youths.
“The events of the last few days in the Gresilles district of Dijon, where there had been gatherings of youths which had led to vehicles and dustbins set on fire, only leads to more insecurity and worries for the local population, following on from the events of the weekend,” the local police force said in a statement late yesterday on Twitter.
The police added they were prepared to bring in more forces to Dijon, if necessary. — Reuters
