Residents from riot-torn suburbs were to march in Paris today – Armistice Day, marking the end of WWI – waving white handkerchiefs to call for an end to more than two weeks of violence.

FRENCH President Jacques Chirac said yesterday that ending the country’s rioting and arson was his priority, but acknowledged that discrimination and lack of equality are driving frustrations among the young people rebelling in largely immigrant suburbs.

French President Jacques Chirac said today that ending the country’s rioting and arson was his priority, but acknowledged that discrimination and lack of equality are driving frustrations among the young people rebelling in largely immigrant suburbs.

Eight French police officers have been suspended for their suspected role in the beating of a young man in a Paris suburb, a national police spokeswoman said today.

French police have found suspected detonator parts in a flat used by four alleged Islamic militants who it is feared were planning an attack.

SEVEN men were being questioned by anti-terrorism detectives yesterday after being detained in two separate swoops in Edinburgh and London, police said.

THREE alleged Islamic radicals arrested by French counterintelligence agents had possession of unidentified chemicals they were planning to use in an attack, according to judicial officials and media reports yesterday.