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French security chief calls for calm in simmering suburbs

French security chief calls for calm in simmering suburbs

PARIS — France's interior minister is condemning unrest in a Paris suburb that led to at least 11 new arrests overnight, and calling for calm after a week of violence linked to the alleged rape of a young black man by police.

Bruno Le Roux urged angry youths to trust authorities to investigate the rape accusations. "I call for responsibility, serenity, trust in the justice system," he told reporters in televised remarks Monday.

Regional police said in a statement that 11 people including eight minors were arrested in Argenteuil, northwest of Paris, after youths set vehicles and garbage cans on fire.

The violence appeared linked to claims by a 22-year-old man that he was sodomized with a police baton after being arrested on Feb. 2 arrest in Aulnay-sous-Bois. Three officers have been given preliminary charges.

The Associated Press