Paris of 21st Century

Decades of poverty and racial tension in the suburbs of Paris boiled over in late October 2005.

After two boys were accidentally killed while fleeing police in one of the suburban towns, riots broke out, instigated mostly by French residents of African descent who live in the poorer areas.

Gangs of young men took to the streets, setting thousands of cars on fire and attacking police and other residents. At least one person was killed and thousands more injured.

The violence sparked similar incidents around the country and lasted nearly three weeks, marking the worst civil unrest in the Paris metropolitan area since the student uprisings of 1968.

The French government declared a state of emergency to help control the rioting, while at the same time announcing new employment programs and economic assistance in an attempt to address the root causes of the problem.