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Seven arrested in Swiss city for vandalism inspired by French riots

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Keystone / Laurent Gillieron

More than a hundred young people gathered in the city centre of Lausanne in French-speaking Switzerland on Saturday evening, causing damage to businesses.

The seven rioters – six of whom were minors and five of foreign origin – were arrested and taken to the police station. An investigation has been opened by the Lausanne judicial police, under the supervision of the canton’s public prosecutor’s office.

Several shop windows were smashed, particularly in the Flon district and on rue de Genève, the Lausanne police said in a statement issued on Saturday night. The front door of a major store was smashed.

Around 50 police officers were deployed to restore order. On several occasions they had to disperse hoodie-wearing youths who threw paving stones at them. A Molotov cocktail was also thrown at police officers, but nobody was injured, the press release said.

+ Globus Riots: when the Swiss youth took to the streets

France saw a fifth night of riots on Saturday following the death on Tuesday of a teenager killed by a police officer. There was less violence than the previous day,  However,  rioters battered down the door of the home of the mayor of L’Haÿ les Roses, in the Paris suburbs, with a car before setting it on fire.

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SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR