France: Rioting loses steam

France’s storm of rioting lost strength today with a drop of nearly half in the number of car burnings, police said. But looters and vandals still defied a state of emergency with attacks on stores, a newspaper warehouse and a subway station.

The extraordinary 12-day state of emergency went into effect at midnight yesterday, giving special powers to authorities in Paris, its suburbs and more than 30 other cities from the Mediterranean to the German border – an indication of how widespread arson, riots and other unrest have become in nearly two weeks of violence.