Marseille braces for more unrest after protests give way to 'apocalyptic' disorder

Thunder and lightning have boomed across Marseille following the weekend's mayhem, illuminating the cracked windows and boarded-up doors of hundreds of businesses that were smashed as protests gave way to disorder.

France's second city saw some of the worst violence as chaos gripped the country on Saturday. Local business leaders say more than 500 premises were damaged, and the majority was looted.

A police union boss told the BBC that the weekend had been an "apocalyptic" hell for his colleagues. 118 officers were injured, representing more than a tenth of the national figure.

So far, 101 arrests have been made in the port city, a quarter of them children.

But by Monday, it was police who were most conspicuous on the city's streets, not protesters. For eight hours, demonstrations and gatherings were banned in an effort to avoid a third consecutive day of disorder.

Source: BBC News World RSS (Open Press / Translated Full Text)