Internet threats prompt Paris to step up security

By Elaine Ganley

ASSOCIATED PRESS

PARIS -- Authorities stepped up security yesterday and placed restrictions on some public gatherings after tip-offs from Internet and text messages suggested "violent actions" over the weekend in central Paris.

But as France marked Armistice Day commemorating the end of World War I, calls for peace in the restive poor neighborhoods of France rang out -- from demonstrators in Paris to religious leaders at a Lyon-area mosque in the southeast.

With a state of emergency in place, several hundred people gathered at the glassy Wall of Peace near the Eiffel Tower to call for an end to the unrest that erupted Oct. 27 and spread across the country.

The demonstration drew elderly Parisians and youths from its poor working-class suburbs along with curious onlookers, all engaging in heated debate over how to stem the violence and solve the causes. Full story.