Curfews go into effect

The prime minister acknowledged France's failures in immigrant issues.
PARIS (AP) -- Prohibiting people from going out at night. Confiscating weapons. Ordering bars, theaters, and meeting places closed. Imposing house arrest and up to two years in prison for violators.
France gave towns and cities racked by rioting and arson attacks a range of tough options to put down the country's worst civil unrest since the student uprisings of 1968 that toppled a government, declaring a state of emergency that paves the way for curfews.
The extraordinary security measures began today and are valid for 12 days. They follow nearly two weeks of rioting in neglected and impoverished neighborhoods packed with Arab and African immigrants and their French-born children.
Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, tacitly acknowledging that France has failed to live up to its egalitarian ideals, reached out Tuesday to the heavily immigrant suburbs with largely Muslim communities.
He said France must make a priority of working against the discrimination that feeds the frustration of youths made to feel that they do not belong in France.
"We must be lucid: The Republic is at a moment of truth," Villepin told parliament. "The effectiveness of our integration model is in question." He called the riots "a warning" and "an appeal."
'Determined individuals'
Despite his conciliatory tone, Villepin said riot police faced "determined individuals, structured gangs, organized criminality," and that restoring order "will take time." Rioters have been using mobile phone text messages and the Internet to organize arson attacks, said police, who arrested two teenage bloggers accused of inciting other youths to riot.
The rioting is forcing France to confront anger building for decades among residents who complain of discrimination and unemployment. Although many of the French-born children of Arab and black African immigrants are Muslim, police say the violence is not being driven by Islamic groups.
Images of teenagers from immigrant families pelting riot police with stones and gasoline bombs -- reminiscent of Palestinian youths attacking Israeli patrols -- are resonating throughout the Arab world.