Gangs of youths launched hit-and-run arson attacks in the ninth night of violence in poor Paris suburbs, as copycat unrest in major towns complicated the government's search for a response.Rioters burnt almost 900 vehicles in the Paris region and large provincial cities like Bordeaux, Pau, Strasbourg, Rennes, Toulouse and Lille.Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, struggling to halt cabinet squabbles and restore order, summoned eight key ministers on Saturday to formulate a political response to what is being seen as a reaction by youths of mainly North African and black African origin angry over racism, unemployment and being marginalised within French societyOvernight, police arrested 203 suspects and drafted in a helicopter in the Paris region to film events. While fewer clashes with youths were reported, judicial officials said the unrest was being organised via the Internet and mobile phones. “Without question what is taking place bears all the hallmarks of being coordinated,” Yves Bot, the Paris public prosecutor, told Europe 1 radio. “The way things are organised is in response to a strategy . with mobile tactics employed by youths, who turn up on scooters, throw a lighted bottle at a vehicle and then leave.”Insurance companies put at 7 million euros ($8.44 million) the cost of more than a week of rioting that forced Villepin to cancel a trip to Canada.Vowing to restore order, Villepin has sought to cool passions. Late on Friday he met residents from troubled neighbourhood. One woman who attended the meeting said: “There needs to be better communication between the state, the police and youth, because they feel they are third- or fourth-rate French people, not even second-rate, because they really live in conditions worthy of a developing country,” —Reuters
