French fireman dies putting out blaze during riots: minister

PARIS, France - A French fireman died while seeking to douse burning cars north of Paris, during a sixth consecutive night of rioting over the police killing of a teenager, the interior minister said on Monday.

The 24-year-old fireman died fighting the fire in an underground car park in the suburb of Seine-Saint-Denis north of the capital, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said.

"An investigation is underway" to determine the circumstances of the vehicle fires, the interior ministry added.

Darmanin did not explicitly refer to the rioting as a cause of the fires and it was not immediately clear if there was a direct link with the violence that has rocked France for almost a week.

"Last night, while battling multiple fires in Saint-Denis, a young (fire brigade) corporal died," said Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu on Twitter.

Transport Minister Clement Beaune added: "My thoughts go out to the public servants mobilised day and night for a return to calm." The ministry said police arrested 157 people nationwide in the overnight rioting, a fraction of the numbers taken in on previous days in a generally quieter night.

Three members of the security forces were injured, also down sharply on previous nights. - AFP