Muslim youths set on fire some 900 vehicles, stoned paramedics and burned a nursery school in a ninth night of protests that spread from Paris suburbs to towns all across France, reports have indicated. Police arrested more than 250 people overnight.

Unrest, including arsons, was reported in the northern city of Lille, in Toulouse in the southwest and in the Normandy city of Rouen. The protests are carried out by angry north African youths rioting over the social conditions they are living in.

For the second night in a row, a helicopter equipped with spotlights and video cameras to track rioters. Small teams of police were also deployed to chase down protestors speeding from one attack to another in cars and on motorbikes.

The violence started late last month following the electrocution of two teenagers who hid in a power substation, apparently believing police were chasing them. One of the dead teenagers was born in Mauritania and the second teenager's family was from Tunisia, the AP reported. It should be noted that France has Europe's largest Muslim population with estimates varying from five to nine million out of a population of 60 million.

© 2005 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)