Riots continue in Paris suburb over police violence

By Hajer M’tiri

PARIS (AA) - At least 11 people were arrested overnight as riots continued to sweep through Paris suburbs amid protests over the alleged rape of a young black man while being arrested by French police.

France's Interior Minister Bruno Le Roux called for calm on Monday.

“I call for responsibility, serenity, trust in the justice system," Le Roux told reporters.

The arrests were made after clashes erupted between 50 protesters and police in the streets of Argenteuil -- a northwestern suburb of Paris.

French daily Le Parisien reported other groups attacked a local police station, torched three police cars and threw Molotov cocktails in Les Ulis town, in the department of Essonne, south of Paris.

Four police officers have been charged with a series of crimes -- including rape and assault -- over the violent arrest of a 22-year-old man, identified only as Theo.

One officer has been charged with rape, the other three with voluntary aggravated violence.

Twelve days since the incident, Theo remains in hospital after having undergone emergency surgery. He had been raped with a baton during his arrest, according to his lawyer, Eric Dupond-Moretti.

Le Roux has suspended the four police officers.

Some 2,000 demonstrators gathered on Saturday in Bobigny, near Aulnay-sous-Bois where the alleged assault took place.

The protest turned violent and riot police fired teargas to disperse demonstrators. Footage from the scene showed cars set on fire -- including two vehicles belonging to media organizations -- and local authority buildings attacked with stones.

At least 37 people were arrested, according to police.

Smaller demonstrations took place in several other towns: 300 in the eastern city of Nantes; 250 in the south-western city of Toulouse; and 200 in Rouen, Normandy.

Last summer, 24-year-old Adama Traore, another black man, died in police custody. His death triggered riots in Beaumont-sur-Oise, located outside Paris. An investigation into that death is ongoing.

In October 2005, the death of two teenagers -- Bouna Traore, 15, and Zyed Benna, 17, who were electrocuted in a power substation after being chased by police in Clichy-sous-Bois, an eastern suburb of Paris -- sparked weeks of riots across France.