France: 20 cars burned in wake of veil incident
As violence in Paris suburb enters second day, 20 cars are set ablaze. Saturday hundreds attacked police station west of Paris after arrest of man whose wife was ticketed for wearing face veil
Some 20 cars have been torched and four people detained in a second night of violence in suburbs west of Paris.
The night before, about 250 people clashed with police in the nearby town of Trappes in apparent protest over the enforcement of France's ban on Islamic face veils. Interior Minister Manuel Valls said police presence will be reinforced in the area until calm returns.
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France's interior minister said Sunday that the incidents overnight targeted the town of Elancourt. Police union official said on BFM television that about 50 assailants were involved, some firing weapons and a gasoline bomb at police.
France has banned face veils since 2011 (Photo: Reuters)
About 250 people hurling projectiles clashed with police firing tear gas west of Paris, in apparent protest over enforcement of France's ban on Islamic face veils Saturday. Five people were injured and six detained in the violence, authorities said Saturday.
The interior minister urged calm and dialogue, insisting on both the need for public order and respect for France's Muslims. The incident in the town of Trappes on Friday night reflected sporadic tensions between police upholding France's strict policies of secularism and those who accuse authorities of discriminating against France's No. 2 religion.
A few garbage dumpsters in the area were torched and a bus shelter shattered in the Trappes unrest. Spent tear gas capsules lay on the road Saturday near the police station at the center of the violence.
A 14-year-old boy suffered a serious eye injury in the violence, from a projectile of unknown provenance, Prosecutor Vincent Lesclous told reporters. Four police officers were injured and six people were detained in the violence, said an official with the regional police administration.
The violence came after a gathering of about 200-250 people to protest the arrest of a man whose wife was ticketed Thursday for wearing a face veil. The husband tried to strangle an officer who was doing the ticketing, the prosecutor said.
France has barred face veils since 2011. Proponents of the ban -- which enjoyed wide public support across the political spectrum -- argue the veil oppresses women and contradicts France's principles of secularism, which are enshrined in the constitution. In addition to small fines or citizenship classes for women wearing veils, the law includes a hefty 30,000 euro ($39,370) fine for anyone who forces a woman to wear one.
The law affects only a very small proportion of France's millions of Muslims who wear the niqab, with a slit for the eyes, or the burqa, with a mesh screen for the eyes. But some Muslim groups argue the law stigmatizes moderate Muslims, too. France also bans headscarves in schools and public buildings.
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