PARIS, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- French police arrested more than 100 people after gangs of youths had broken calm in the streets of many French towns and cities on Halloween night, after a message on social media incited for "a purge" against police, Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said on Thursday.
According to preliminary data, 116 suspects were detained, and 82 of them were put into custody following "abnormal and scandalous facts", the minister said, while noting that violence was less severe than last year.
"Halloween must remain a celebration. The purge is not a joke, (and) the purge is a threat to our security forces that embody the Republic and ensure our protection," Castaner said.
Groups of hooded youths stormed the streets in many parts of the country mainly in central areas of Lyon and Paris northern suburbs. They destroyed shops, set on fire vehicles and rubbish bins and attacked police with projectile and acid, local media reported.
Three policemen and two gendarmes were wounded in the Halloween "purge", which was triggered by a Snapchat message.
Castaner said that 15,000 police were deployed all across France on Wednesday night in advance.
