Station Riot Makes Crime Dominate French Poll

Crime and the fear of violence returned to dominate France's presidential election campaign yesterday as candidates criticised each other following clashes between youths and police at Paris's Gare du Nord.

On Tuesday a routine ticket check sparked an eight-hour battle between riot police and youths at Paris's busiest railway station as the corridors were teargassed by the security services and men smashed shop windows. Witnesses accused the police of unnecessary force while the police said they had been assaulted by a fare dodger.

Scenes of angry youths, bins being set alight and lines of riot police behind shields evoked memories of the 2005 riots in poor suburban estates where crowds baited the police with chants against the former interior minister and right-wing presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy.

The left immediately accused Mr Sarkozy, once known as France's "top cop", of fostering a repressive police force and for leaving the country in a position of such tension that, as one Socialist MP said, France is "living on a powder keg".

In a rare attack on her rightwing opponent, the Socialist candidate Ségolène Royal spoke of five years of complete failure to tackle crime and blamed the government for "the worrying breakdown of trust between the security services and our citizens".

The centrist candidate François Bayrou warned that Mr Sarkozy had turned the police into a "mere force of repression".

Mr Sarkozy, who has been nurturing a more relaxed image, returned to an authoritative stance during a rally in Lille, saying: "It's clear. Authority and respect is on our side. Fraud and supporting delinquents is on their side." His party said he was the only candidate able to guarantee "the security of the French". Yesterday he accused his opponents of making excuses for rioters, adding: "It makes me sick."

The debate about security and fear of crime made some media uneasy. In 2002's presidential race a series of crime stories made fear of violence into a crucial campaign issue, which commentators felt directly helped the far right's Jean-Marie Le Pen reach the second round.

Yesterday Mr Le Pen attacked Mr Sarkozy's record on crime and blamed the station clash on immigration policy.

A poll yesterday showed that while Mr Sarkozy remains in the lead, his support has dropped. A Socialist spokesman said whenever the right was in trouble it played on the nation's fears.