France Riot Watch: Security Is Tightened in Central Paris

French President Jacques Chirac, foreground, and Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, stand at attention at the Arc de Triomphe monument in Paris, during ceremonies marking the 87th anniversary of the World War I armistice, in Paris, Friday, Nov. 11, 2005.

The ASSociated Press has Security Is Tightened in Central Paris

Police tightened security in central Paris on Friday with riot forces and bomb squads along the Champs-Elysees, and angry residents of riot-torn suburbs staged a sit-in Friday near the Eiffel Tower, calling for an end to more than two weeks of arson and vandalism across France.

The moves came as the wave of violence that spread outward from Paris’s impoverished outlying neighborhoods appeared to be calming in other French cities but remained persistent in the capital.

The weak, slow response of the Chirac government to quell the violence led to the ever escalating violence.

Why did they wait?

In suburban Paris, however, the number of car burnings increased to 111, from 84 the night before.

“We have seen a continued drop beyond Paris, but persistence near the capital,” national police spokesman Patrick Hamon said. “We cannot yet claim victory. The drop remains fragile.”

Flap hopes the violence ends but the ineffectual government response will be troubling to all of Europe for years to come.