France's Socialist interior minister has accused his conservative predecessors of bringing back terrorism after a reported surge in crime, reports the BBC.
Manuel Valls blamed the UMP party of former President Nicolas Sarkozy for data described by France's centre-right Figaro newspaper as "catastrophic".
"It was your government... that is to blame for the return of terrorism in the country," Mr Valls told a UMP MP.
His remark created uproar in the National Assembly.
So incensed was the former Europe minister, Pierre Lellouche, that he had to be restrained by parliamentary bailiffs as he approached the interior minister, the BBC's Christian Fraser reports from Paris.
There were shouts of "Valls resign" and such was the commotion that the session had to be suspended.
Mr Valls was responding to a question from UMP deputy Eric Ciotti, who pointed to October government crime figures reported by Le Figaro.
The paper quoted statistics showing a rise in violent crime of nearly 9%, a rise in theft of 8% and a rise in economic crime of nearly 18%.
Such figures, the main newspaper of France's conservatives said, had not been seen since the last Socialist government under Prime Minister Lionel Jospin (1997-2002).
The Socialists, re-elected in June after a decade out of office, are sensitive to UMP accusations that they are soft on crime, our correspondent says.
"The failure is yours!" Mr Valls retorted in parliament. The UMP government, he said, had presided over the rise in crime, reducing police jobs.
Mr Lellouche said: "I wanted to grab him by the collar and remind him that that half of France which voted for Mr Sarkozy can never be accused of encouraging terrorism."
Read more of this report from the BBC.