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TENSIONS WERE running high in Grenoble last night after four people were arrested on suspicion of having opened fire at police officers during a weekend of violent clashes between young people and police.

As dusk fell, more than 30 riot police vans joined dozens of heavily-armed officers from two elite national units lined up in black balaclavas along Avenue Marie Reynoard in Villeneuve, a run-down district on the outskirts of the southeastern French city. Riots broke out here on Friday night following a memorial service for a local resident killed the day before in a shootout with police. The dead man, Karim Boudouda (27), had allegedly taken part in the armed robbery of a casino, and a prosecutor said police acted in legitimate self-defence after they were fired on three times following a car chase.