French Riots Nearing End, Official Says

France’s worst rioting since the 1960s seems to be nearing an end, the national police chief said Sunday, as fewer cars were torched nationwide and Paris remained calm despite Internet and cellphone messages urging violence in the capital.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso proposed that the European Union give $58 million to France to help riot-hit towns recover. He said the EU could make available as much as $1.2 billion in longer-term support.

In scattered attacks, youths rammed a burning car into a center for retirees in Provence and pelted police with stones in the heart of Lyon. A firebomb was tossed at a Lyon mosque but did not explode.

The nationwide storm of arson attacks, rioting and other violence, often by young people from impoverished minority communities, has lost steam since the government declared a state of emergency Tuesday.

Youths set fire to 374 vehicles before dawn Sunday, compared with 502 the previous night, police said. A week ago, 1,400 were incinerated on one night. If the trend continues, “things could return to normal very quickly,” National Police Chief Michel Gaudin said, noting that French youths burn about 100 cars on an average Saturday night.