Mohammad, a shopkeeper in Aulnay-sous-Bois, shakes his head when asked about the violent rioting that has become a regular night-time feature in the run-down suburbs of north-east Paris. “People are afraid and they are angry; everyone feels the same,” he says

There is little left of the Hertz car rental agency next door to Mohammad’s shop except for the charred remains of vans and cars. The burnt-out shells barely attract a second glance from locals rushing to finish their shopping before another night of violence. On Thursday night the violence spread: 165 cars were burnt in Île-de-France, seven in Dijon, nine in Seine-Maritime and eight in Bouches-du-Rhône.