The French government has vowed to bring an end to violence in the usually placid eastern city of Dijon after it was hit by a fourth night of unrest allegedly linked to score-settling by members of the Chechen community, reports The Guardian.
According to police, the incidents appear to have been sparked by an alleged assault this month on a 16-year-old Chechen boy, prompting reprisal raids.
Some reports suggested Chechens had travelled to Dijon from all over France as well as neighbouring Belgium and Germany.
The unrest has focused on the low-income district of Grésilles, which has a large north African population.
On Monday evening, dozens of hooded men carrying arms and crowbars had gathered in Grésilles, shooting in the air, destroying video surveillance cameras and setting fire to bins and vehicles, police said.
Riot police took 90 minutes to put an end to the violence, leaving the area calm overnight. Four people were detained.
The deputy interior minister, Laurent Nuñez, travelled to Dijon, vowing an “extremely strong response”, with more than 150 police and paramilitary gendarmes mobilised to halt any unrest on Tuesday evening.