France's lower house of parliament voted today to extend a state of emergency for three months after the government said the extra powers were still needed to end the country's worst civil unrest in four decades.
The government also moved to deport 10 foreigners convicted during the 19 nights of violence that erupted in troubled suburbs and is showing signs of abating.
The National Assembly voted 346-148 to extend the state of emergency until February, pushing the measure on to the Senate tomorrow.
Barring last-minute changes, the upper house was expected to follow suit and allow the extension to take effect at midnight.
President Jacques Chirac's ruling conservatives, backed by centrist allies, pushed through the extension.
The opposition Socialists were opposed, arguing that emergency measures were no longer needed because the rioting is receding.
Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy told lawmakers that the unrest was "one of the sharpest and most complex urban crises we have ever had to face," although he also said that heavy policing has fostered a "progressive return to calm" - with 102 towns still affected by violence, down from a peak of more than 300.
Extending the state of emergency for three months "at most" is "wise and reasonable," Mr Sarkozy added. "The French are asking us to restore order to the Republic."
Opposition lawmakers said extending the emergency powers could cause violence to flare again.
Communist Frederic Dutoit said it "threw petrol on the fire". Mr Sarkozy insisted the measures would be applied "everywhere it is necessary - but only where it is necessary".
The rioting has forced the country to face the failure of French society to integrate its African and Muslim minorities. Anger about high unemployment and discrimination has fanned frustration among the French-born children of immigrants from France's former colonies.
Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin told parliament that the emergency measures could be lifted before three months if "peace is restored in a lasting manner."
But "the situation remains difficult in a great number of neighbourhoods. We cannot accept that more than 200 cars burn each night," he said.
Earlier, National Police Chief Michel Gaudin said vandals set fire to 215 vehicles overnight Monday-Tuesday, continuing a steady decline that showed France is "getting back to normal" after 19 nights of arson attacks, clashes with police and other unrest.
The initial 12-day state of emergency declared on November 9 allows local officials to impose curfews, permit police searches at night and other measures to stop unrest.
About 40 towns, including France's third-largest city, Lyon, have used the measures, imposing curfews on minors.
The opposition Socialists' parliamentary leader, Jean-Marc Ayrault, said the extension was unnecessary and that existing laws should suffice to restore and maintain order.
He noted that even during the student-worker protests of May 1968, President Charles de Gaulle did not declare a state of emergency. "A state of emergency cannot be a lasting method for managing the suburbs," Mr Ayrault told parliament.
"France is not in the midst of a civil war." Aside from adopting security measures, the government also is taking longer-term steps to reduce unemployment, discrimination and suburban decay - all recognized as factors spurring the violence.
AP