The unrest has been spreading

See the aftermath

Youths burned buildings and more than 500 vehicles in the eighth consecutive night of rioting. Nearly 80 arrests were made in Paris.

Cars were torched in the eastern city of Dijon, and sporadic unrest broke out in southern and western France.

The unrest was sparked by the deaths of two teenagers of African origin.

Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin has pledged to restore order following criticism of the government's failure to end violence.

Thursday night's incidents occurred in several towns to the north-east and west of the capital, including Aulnay-sous-Bois.

Most of the attacks took place in the largely immigrant area of Seine-Saint-Denis, where about 1,300 police had been deployed.

Gangs of attackers

As on previous nights, gangs of youths armed with bricks and sticks roamed the streets of housing estates. The situation had calmed down at dawn.

In the reported overnight incidents:

A 56-year-old disabled bus passenger suffers severe burns when a Molotov cocktail is thrown on board in the northern Sevran suburb

Shots are fired at riot police in various parts of Paris, slightly wounding five officers, police say A carpet warehouse in Paris is set alight during the riots

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A group of officers is targeted near a synagogue in the Seine-Saint-Denis area of Stains, where a primary school is partially burned

Police say 519 vehicles were burned and 78 people held in the Paris region, in the worst night of riots so far

More than 100 firefighters fight a blaze at a carpet warehouse in Aulnay-sous-Bois; another warehouse is also set alight in Le Blanc Mesnil area

Twenty-seven buses are burned at Trappes depot in Yvelines, west of Paris

Outside Paris, as well as the cars set alight in Dijon, unrest flared in the Rouen area of Normandy and in the Bouches-du-Rhone region near Marseilles in the south.

The unrest began after teenagers Bouna Traore, aged 15, and Zyed Benna, 17, were accidentally electrocuted at an electricity sub-station in Clichy-sous-Bois.

Local people say they were fleeing police - a claim the authorities deny. Inquiries are under way.

'Troublemakers'

Amid reports of a cabinet split on the handling of the riots, Mr de Villepin has held talks with Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy and other ministers, as well as MPs and mayors from affected towns.

Mr Sarkozy had earlier sparked some criticism with hardline comments saying the government would not allow "troublemakers, a bunch of hoodlums, think they can do whatever they want".

The areas affected are poor, largely immigrant communities with high levels of unemployment.

Muslim leaders have urged politicians to show respect for immigrant communities.

Minister for Social Cohesion Jean-Louis Borloo said France had to acknowledge its failure to deal with anger simmering in poor suburbs for decades.