Toon row: French embassy in Iran targeted

Clashes broke out between police and militant Iranian students who had tried to invade French embassy compound.

Clashes broke out between police and militant Iranian students who had tried to invade the French embassy compound during a protest demonstration against republishing of the controversial Prophet cartoons in a French newspaper.

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A witness at the site said the students were trying to climb over the embassy walls to pull down the French flag.

While shouting "Death to France", demanding the expulsion of the French ambassador and the closure of the embassy, the students belonging to the paramilitary Basij (volunteer) group threw stones and Molotov cocktails, smashing windows and causing other damage to the embassy building.

A large number of police and anti-riot forces were stationed at the site to prevent the students from entering the embassy compound in downtown Tehran.