A Claude Monet painting of a railway bridge over the river Seine sold for more than €26m at auction and set a new record for the artist, auction house Christie’s said today.

France's biggest Muslim fundamentalist organisation, the Union for Islamic Organisations of France, has issued a fatwa, or religious decree, in a bid to help quell riots which have seen nearly 1,000 arrested in recent days.

Ten police officers were injured by lead pellets in a clash with 250-300 youths in France overnight as rioting continued, but only two were taken to hospital with more serious injuries – to the neck and legs.