The violence that has wracked Paris suburbs over the past week has spread to new areas and outside the French capital for the first time. Youths burned buildings and more than 900 vehicles in the ninth consecutive night of rioting in immigrant-dominated areas near Paris, despite a heavy police presence. Nurseries and a school were burnt overnight and unrest spread to Nice, Lille, Marseille and Toulouse. French police have arrested more than 250 people following fresh riots in and around Paris and other parts of France.

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.

Religious leaders hope to calm tensions with a march in one of the worst-hit Paris suburbs, Aulnay-sous-Bois. Muslim and Christian leaders are expected to join the march along with the families of the two youths whose deaths triggered the unrest.

Bouna Traore, aged 15, and Zyed Benna, 17, were accidentally electrocuted at an electricity sub-station in Clichy-sous-Bois, near Paris.
Local people say they were fleeing police - a claim the authorities deny. Inquiries are under way.

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