French Muslim riot update from CNN, with thanks to Bryce:
PARIS, France (CNN) — Rioting erupted for an eighth straight night in the impoverished suburbs of Paris, with angry youths setting fire to a school, a bus depot, two textile warehouses and hundreds of vehicles.
Although the unrest Thursday and early Friday was less intense than in previous nights, the disturbances spread outside the Paris region for the first time.
Violence was reported in some 20 communities across the country, including areas near Rouen in northern France, Dijon in the east and Marseille in the south.
In the Seine-Saint-Denis region to the north and east of the capital, youths fired buckshot at riot police vehicles in Neuilly-sur-Marne, The Associated Press quoted the area’s top official, Prefect Jean-Francois Cordet, as saying.
A group of 30 to 40 youths harassed police near a synagogue further east in Stains, Cordet said.
Officials said 187 vehicles had been destroyed overnight in Seine-Saint-Denis, the worst-hit area located between central Paris and Charles de Gaulle airport, Reuters reported.
Local media said up to 600 vehicles were destroyed across the entire Paris region, including 23 buses at a terminal near Versailles. An amateur video aired on television showed them in a row in flames, according to Reuters.
Police detained 27 people and reported two injuries — one a policeman and another a handicapped person badly burned during an arson attack on a city bus.
The latest violence flared despite the presence of about 2,000 additional police officers, and despite hopes that festivities marking the end of Ramadan would calm tensions.