Calm returns to France as 98 vehicles burned

Fewer than 100 vehicles were torched around France overnight, a situation considered “totally normal” after three weeks of unrest that put France into a state of emergency, national police said today.

A total of 98 vehicles were burned and 33 people arrested – including people caught with firebombs and minors breaking curfews in some towns where night-time movements were limited.

The calm came after parliament adopted a three-month extension of a state of emergency put in place on November 9.

Power to impose curfews is a key measure among the extraordinary powers conferred on local authorities by the state of emergency.