Hundreds arrested on fifth night of France unrest

French authorities deployed reinforcements to flashpoint cities and had made hundreds of arrests by early today, on the fifth night of unrest sparked by the fatal police shooting of a 17-year-old who was laid to rest the day before.

A total of 486 people had been arrested across France as of 3am local time today, the interior ministry said, though the level of violence appeared to have declined since rioting first broke out over the death of Nahel M in the Paris suburb of Nanterre on Tuesday.