Fillon vows to stamp out Paris gang violence 04/09/2007 00:00

PARIS, Sept 3, 2007 (AFP) - French Prime Minister Francois Fillon vowed Monday to take additional measures to bolster security near a Paris train station after suburban gangs clashed for the third time in a week.

"We will not allow the violence to continue," Fillon said after touring the Gare du Nord train station where 15 people were arrested during fighting on Sunday.  

"We will be extremely strict and take additional measures," he said.

Fillon suggested installing more surveillance cameras and said gang members would face prosecution for taking part in the fights.

No one was injured in the fighting on Sunday that came a week after some 30 youths were arrested in clashes in the former red-light district of Pigalle and at the Gare du Nord train station.

Police sources have expressed concern with the gang warfare that they said was "relatively new" to the capital, having been mostly confined to the suburbs.

Police said the two gangs were from two Paris suburbs and that the train station had become a "rallying point" for fights "to settle scores over disputes that were unclear," said a source.

Interior Minister Michele Alliot-Marie called a meeting of regional government heads and police chiefs for the Paris region to improve cooperation among police forces.

AFP

Subject: French news