Rocket and riots in strife-torn Corsica

Youths throwing stones and shooting flare guns clashed with police, and an apparent rocket attack razed a docked French customs boat in Corsica – the latest violence on the Mediterranean island swept up in wave of labour strife.

The skirmishes capped about a week of unrest on the picturesque French island triggered by government plans to privatise a state-run ferry operator. Earlier yesterday, riot police evicted union pickets who had blockaded a Corsican port for four days.