A total of 25,000 civil and military police officers are to be deployed throughout the country on New Year's Eve to keep the peace, the office of the national police (DPGN) said Friday. Of that number, 4,500 will be stationed in Paris, where more than 500,000 people are expected to ring in the New Year at such traditional venues as the Champs Elysees and the Eiffel Tower, according to DPA. The total mobilization comprises 10 per cent of all police personnel, including civilians working in administration, and is motivated by fears that the celebrations could be used as a pretext for violent disturbances in France's suburban ghettoes, like those that swept the nation for three weeks in late October and November. Car-burning by minority youths living in some of the country's disadvantaged suburban housing estate has become a tradition in France, with 333 vehicles torched last New Year's Eve, 324 in 2003 and 379 in 2002. However, the events of late October, which were sparked by the accidental deaths by electrocution of two minority teenagers in a Paris suburb, have provoked fears that the unrest could be more violent and widespread this year. Some 10,000 vehicles and more than 200 buildings were set on fire during November's violence, which at its height affected nearly 300 cities and towns. --SP 23 28 Local Time 20 28 GMT
