77 cops injured in Paris riots

Youths battle police for a second night in Paris suburbs, burning down government buildings and injuring 77 police officers.

Youths battled police for a second night in Paris suburbs, burning down government buildings and injuring 77 police officers, who stepped up security in troubled towns on Tuesday.

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The trouble in six towns north of Paris — which were also the scene of major unrest in 2005 — were sparked by the deaths on Sunday of two teenagers whose motorbike collided with a police car in Villiers-le-Bel. Police said one of five officers who were in critical condition in the latest clashes had been shot.

In Villiers, about 100 youths, crouching behind trash cans, hurled objects at 160 riot police who fired rubber bullets and tear gas. Young rioters in the nearby towns of Sarcelles, Garges-les-Gonesse, Cergy, Ermont and Goussainville were armed with petrol bombs, bottles filled with acid and baseball bats.

The riots lasted about six hours and continued into the early hours of Tuesday.