Hundreds of cars torched overnight

The Southern Baptists at it again??

VANDALS set fire to about 400 cars overnight and police said they arrested more than 250 people, as violence marred France's New Year celebrations.

However, a police spokesman said there were fewer problems than in 2005, when youths attacked trains in the Paris region and southeast of the country.

25,000 police were on duty throughout the country during the night, including 4500 in Paris, where the authorities banned fireworks and firecrackers.

Police said that they had arrested 258 people nationwide by early morning, including two children aged eight and 10 who set fire to dustbins in the eastern city of Strasbourg.

Vandals is oft used code for Islamofascist terrorists.