French police declared the all-clear yesterday after three weeks of civil violence that stunned the political elite and set off an anguished debate over the country's poor and immigrant neighborhoods.
As politicians grapple with the root causes of the unrest in a bid to stop it exploding again, the national police service said there had been a "return to a normal situation everywhere in France" overnight, with just 98 vehicles torched across the country.
That figure is within the average nightly range seen before the worst civil unrest that France has seen in nearly four decades broke out on Oct. 27.
A state of emergency remains in place, however, after lawmakers voted on Wednesday to extend by three months a law giving authorities the right to impose curfews and widen police search powers.
None of the 10,000 officers deployed was injured in any confrontation, but 33 people were arrested, the DGPN police service said. In all, since the start of the troubles, 9,071 vehicles have been destroyed and 2,921 people apprehended.
The peak of the violence was the night of Nov. 6, when 1,408 vehicles were burnt. Since then, and under the restrictions of the state of emergency imposed by President Jacques Chirac's government, it has gradually subsided.
The Rhone region covering Lyon and nearby southeastern towns said yesterday it was lifting a curfew on minors after just eight cars were burnt overnight.
The political class has been left struggling to explain the reasons that fueled the unrest, which spread around most major towns and cities, creating the worst urban violence since the 1968 student revolt.
Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, a presidential hopeful who also heads the ruling conservative UMP party, warned late on Wednesday that, while the fires had died down, "nothing has yet been won for good."
Initially sparked by the electrocution deaths of two teenagers of west and north African background hiding from police in an electrical sub-station in a poor neighborhood northeast of Paris, the conflagration grew as youths from high-immigrant districts across the country joined in.
Many voiced anger at racial discrimination despite being born in France, a lack of educational and employment prospects and a constant police presence. Sarkozy was singled out for vitriol because of his description of "rabble" and "louts" and a vow to clean crime out of the suburbs with a "power-hose."
But in a poll released on Wednesday, there were signs that the stern stance by Sarkozy, and the government in general, was backed by the majority of French. Sarkozy, Chirac and Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin all saw their popularity ratings get a boost from the Ipsos survey carried out Nov. 12, with the interior minister benefiting most to garner 63 percent support.
Importantly for his ambitions, his "presidential vote potential" climbed to 61 percent, above the 53 percent for Villepin, seen as the designated heir of Chirac, who, at 72, looks increasingly unlikely to stand for re-election in 2007.
Sarkozy's appeal for positive discrimination to be introduced as a way of helping minorities find jobs has been blocked by Chirac who, while urging employers to ignore racial backgrounds on applications, has ruled out the constitutional reform required.
The president's proposal has instead focused on a sort of civil service for alienated youths, while Villepin has promised schemes to improve employment and education, and increasing the number of zones given tax breaks.
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