French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin said late Monday that the urban violence engulfing France was "unacceptable" and France would impose curfews in its city suburbs "if necessary".

He said on French news channel TF1 that there were "of course organized criminal networks backing the unrest and there are also gangs of youths, some of them very young, who are alienated from society, family and schools."

The curfew decision is expected to be made at a cabinet meeting early Tuesday with the approval of President Jacques Chirac, said Villepin, adding that 1,500 police reinforcements are to be deployed to restore public order.

"Everywhere it is necessary, the prefects (regional authorities) can, under the authority of the interior minister, apply a curfew if they think it useful for a return to calm," he said.

The French prime minister also announced a series of financial measures to support local associations in high-immigrant suburbs.

"We reduced our contribution to associations in recent years. Well, we shall restore that contribution, for large as well as small associations, working day to day in the areas of housing and education," he said.

The unrest began on October 27 after the accidental electrocution of two teenagers in an electrical sub-station who tried to flee a police identity check in Clichy-sous-bois, northeast Paris suburb.

Since then, rioting has spread to 200 city suburbs and towns, including Marseille, Nice, Toulouse, Lille, Rennes, Rouen, Bordeaux and Montpellier, and central Paris, according to French police.

One person died Monday from injuries sustained in a beating last week. More than 5,000 vehicles have been burned, including 1,408 vehicles on the only night from Sunday to Monday, against 1,295 on the night from Saturday to Sunday, police said.

(Xinhua News Agency November 8, 2005)