Riot in France after Muslim veil check

Burka LadyMuslim rioters threw rocks and set fires following a police check of a completely veiled woman in Trappes, a western suburb of Paris, newspaper Le Parisien reported Saturday.

The gathering of 200 to 400 people became “violent” at about 8:30 pm (1830 GMT) Friday, the report said. The mob vandalized a bus shelter and set refuse bins on fire.

Two police officers were injured, a police union spokesman said. An unconfirmed report said that one boy was injured and rushed to hospital.

Police surrounded their station with emergency vehicles to protect it from the rioters.

The mob in the town of 30,000, 30 kilometres from central Paris, was angered by the arrest of a 21-year-old man on Thursday, who attacked a police officer after objecting to a police check of his fully veiled wife.

In France, the wearing of burqas and other veils in public is prohibited. – dpa