Elite French police make arrests after Dijon gang violence

Trouble first broke out late on Friday when about 100 Chechen youths from across France came to the Dijon suburb of Gresilles to avenge an attack on a Chechen teenager, police officials said. Armed police moved into to restore order as the violence spread between rival gangs, authorities said.

France's elite 'RAID' police unit has arrested several members of the Chechen community after four nights of gang violence in the city of Dijon, a police source said. Trouble first broke out late on Friday when about 100 Chechen youths from across France came to the Dijon suburb of Gresilles to avenge an attack on a Chechen teenager, police officials said.

Armed police moved into to restore order as the violence spread between rival gangs, authorities said. Clashes have broken out in recent months in a number of high-rise, low-income housing estates across France, where the strict lockdown rules imposed to tackle the coronavirus have exacerbated social tensions.