Cars Burned During Violent Clashes In France (video)

– Photos and video from Bellaciao

French protesters burned 317 cars and wounded 13 police officers during street violence on the eve of the Bastille Day national holiday, officials have said.

As French troops made last-minute preparations for the July 14 parade on the Champs Elysees in Paris, the suburbs of major cities were contemplating another clean-up operation.

By 4am GMT, police headquarters in Paris had recorded 317 burnt out cars - up 6.7% on 2008 - and 240 arrests - almost double the total for the same period last year.

These numbers were expected to increase as fresh reports came in.

The injured officers were mainly suffering from hearing difficulties after being targeted by youths throwing fireworks and small-scale home-made explosives.

Some protesters had clashed with riot police in the Parisian suburb of Montreuil.

The demonstrators were venting anger over police tactics used to remove people from a squat.

But, shortly after 5pm GMT, clashes erupted and tear gas was aimed at those who argued with officers.

Montreuil mayor Dominique Voynet said the degree of police intervention was disproportionate.

– http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Wo...

"The violence used to expel the people from the protest was completely not worth it," she said.

Joachim Gatti, 34, reportedly lost an eye after being hit with a flash-ball used by police during an expulsion of people from squats in the area on July 8.

France marks Bastille Day as the anniversary of July 14, 1789, when a mob stormed the Parisian prison and set in motion the events that would lead to the overthrow of the monarchy.

Nowadays, youths from bleak housing projects around cities use it to express their frustration with high unemployment rates and what they see as France’s failure to integrate ethnic minorities.