THE teenage waitress disappeared one night after her shift. After a police hunt that gripped France, her severed limbs and head were found in the waters of an abandoned quarry.

A 36-year-old woman was taken into police custody in the French Alps after police discovered the bodies of three of her newborn babies hidden at her home, police said today.

French police unions accused authorities today of being too soft on crime-ridden neighbourhoods to prevent a repeat of the riots that raged a year ago through neglected housing projects nationwide.