Mediapart reports:
An attempt was made to set a synagogue on fire, cars and rubbish bins were set alight, shops vandalized and fireworks and smoke bombs thrown after the holding of an unauthorized protest rally against Israel’s continuing military offensive in Gaza on Sunday afternoon in a northern Paris suburb.
The rioting in Sarcelles followed similar scenes in Paris on Saturday after another protest against Israel’s military invasion of Gaza was held despite a ban by the authorities on the grounds of the risk of violence.
The Sarcelles demonstration began peacefully, when organizers, according to France Info radio reports, denounced the decision by police and the local Town Hall authorities to prohibit the event, while at the same time appealing for those attending to remain calm.
The suburb’s synagogue was surrounded by a police cordon, and survived damage after a Molotov cocktail was thrown at it.
French media reports said calm had returned to the area by early evening when police announced they had made 18 arrests.
A parallel, pro-Israeli rally due to take place in Sarcelles on Sunday afternoon was also banned.