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Riot police fired tear gas in the violent scenes in the French capital Paris and the city of Lyon on Halloween night.

More than 100 of the rioters were arrested after hassling police and passers by, shattering shop windows and setting rubbish bins on fire.

In the deprived Seine-Saint-Denis area north of Paris, a sportswear store was looted and young people robbing a grocery store attacked police with acid, according to Denis Jacob of police union Alternative Police.

Authorities said the riots were stoked by messages circulated on social media, apparently inspired by the Hollywood horror film franchise “The Purge”, which depicts a violent dystopia in which all crimes are made legal for a day.