Iranian woman sets herself ablaze in Paris

An Iranian woman set herself ablaze in Paris today during a protest against a mass round-up of left-wing Iranian exiles in France…

An Iranian woman set herself ablaze in Paris today during a protest against a mass round-up of left-wing Iranian exiles in France the previous day.

Marzieh Babakhani was rushed to hospital with severe burns after joining about 100 exiles protesting at an Interior Ministry office near the Eiffel Tower and then setting herself on fire.

"We condemn the shameful deal with the mullahs," chanted the crowd, accusing France of staging the raids as a favour to the Islamic republic they oppose.

Tehran has long called for a crackdown on the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), whose Paris region offices were raided yesterday.

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The Paris demonstration was the third dramatic protest in Europe against yesterday's sudden sweep in which 159 Iranian exiles were detained and at least €2.8 million were seized. Police said they were still counting more money found in several suitcases.

The NCRI said the Paris detainees had begun an indefinite hunger strike to protest the crackdown.

Yesterday, a man set himself on fire outside the French consulate in London. Exiles pelted the Iranian consulate in Hamburg with stones and fruit and four forced their way into the building, wrecking furniture