The number of police officers injured in clashes in Paris suburbs overnight reached about 60, police said on Tuesday, after a second night of rioting, raising fears of a repeat of the wave of unrest that swept across some of the poorest housing estates in France two years ago.

Police officers were hit with stones, petrol bombs and firecrackers that exploded over their heads during hours of skirmishes with rioters in the northern suburb of Villiers-le-Bel and nearby areas.