Amiens: France Months

France Dept: While the identity of the rioters and the immediate cause is unclear, the economic picture of the area in question is not. Unemployment skews higher in northern France and among the country s youth. Less than two weeks ago, the French government declared Amiens among 15 impoverished zones to receive more money and security, according to The Chronicle Herald. At the height of the latest confrontation, 150 officers both local and federal riot police faced off against young men who fired buckshot and fireworks at them, skirmishing through the neighbourhood in the city about 120 kilometres north of Paris. There were no arrests and aMIENS, France Months of tension between police and young people in a troubled district of northern France exploded on Tuesday, with dozens of youths facing off against riot officers in a night of violence. Sixteen officers were injured, a pre-school and public gym were torched, and at least three passing drivers in Amiens were dragged from their cars. The eruption of violence shows how little relations have changed between police and youths in France s housing projects since nationwide riots in 2005 raged unchecked for nearly a month, leaving entire neighbourhoods in flames in the far-flung suburbs. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.