Urban rioting continues in France

Protesters continue to rally in their third night of rioting

Youths angered at the police shooting of a 16-year-old boy have been rioting in a suburb just outside Paris.

It was the third consecutive night of urban violence in France. There were no immediate reports of injuries or arrests in the violence in Dammarie-les-Lys, about 50 kms (30 miles) southeast of Paris.

Around 60 youths threw petrol bombs at the walls and balconies of a high rise building at a housing complex. At least a hundred riot police charged several times, throwing tear gas to disperse the crowd.

A French radio reported that police entered some apartments to bring out residents.

France's Interior Minister, Jean-Pierre Chevenement, had called for calm on Sunday.

Violence first erupted in the working class district on Friday following the shooting to death early on Thursday of a teenager who went through a roadblock near Fontainebleu, a few kilometers away.

Until Sunday night, it was a working class Lyon neighborhood, Duchere, where violence flared following the killing of a man in police custody.

Residents of the troubled suburb said they would stage a silent demonstration on Monday despite reports that tension was still high.

A policeman was charged on Saturday with murder after he allegedly shot and killed 24-year-old Fabrice Fernandez minutes after he was arrested and taken inside a police station.

The policeman, whose name has not been released, faces up to 30 years in prison if found guilty.

The young man died instantly on Thursday night after being hit in the face by a shot from his own pump-action gun, which the policeman was holding, said Lyon prosecutor, Christian Hassenfratz.