PARIS - Youths burned 1,137 cars across France overnight as New Year's Eve celebrations once again turned violent, the French Interior Ministry said on Friday.
Car burnings are regular occurrences in poor suburbs that ring France's big cities, but the arson is especially prevalent during New Year's Eve revelry.
The number of vehicles torched was only 10 short of the record 1,147 burned this time last year, even though the Interior Ministry mobilised 45,000 police during the night - 10,000 more than 12 months ago.
It said police detained 549 people overnight, compared with 288 in 2009 New Year celebrations. However, unlike in previous years, there were no direct clashes between police and youths.
"The few disturbances that did take place were brought swiftly under control," the ministry said in a statement.
(Reporting by Crispian Balmer, editing by Mark Trevelyan)
REUTERS ^Prisoners riot in Peru; officials say 2 dead, some jailers seized LIMA, Peru (AP) - Officials say about 500 prisoners have rioted in northern Peru, killing two inmates and taking six guards hostage.
Chief Cabinet minister Javier Velasquez says high-level officials have been sent to the prison in Chachapoyas to resolve the uprising that started on New Year's Eve. He says the guards seized include five men and a woman.
Velasquez says he's not sure what caused the riot, but local Television N says the inmate want a change in prison management because of a crackdown on drugs and cell phones.
