France's interior minister pressed home a pledge of tough action to curb urban unrest by angry youths, including the expulsion of foreigners involved in 17 successive nights of violence. Youths set fire to a nursery school on Saturday night and police fired tear gas to disperse a group that attacked cars and stalls in France's second city Lyon earlier in the day in the first violence to hit a city centre. But the intensity of the unrest by disaffected French citizens of Arab and African origin as well as white youths protesting against unemployment, racism and harsh police treatment continued to fall from its peak last Sunday, according to a report of Reuters. Some 315 vehicles had been set ablaze by 4 a.m. (0300 GMT) on Sunday, compared to 384 at the same time the previous night, and 161 people had been detained, police said. "What is interesting is the fall in the number of vehicles burned," a police spokesman said. Violence has dropped since the government adopted emergency measures last Tuesday including curfews. Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy met police in central Paris on Saturday night and restated a pledge to throw out foreigners caught rioting. "If you want to live in France with a residency permit you have to abide by the laws. ... Immigration laws allow expulsions. I am the interior minister and I will apply the law," he said. Central Paris remained calm as thousands of police deployed and authorities enforced a ban on gatherings that could provoke trouble during the Armistice holiday weekend marking the end of World War One. "All those who wish to commit acts of violence will be brought to justice," Sarkozy said.
