France's lower house of parliament has cleared the first step for an extension in emergency powers to quell an unprecedented wave of urban unrest, after the prime minister toured a riot-hit suburb. A majority of 346 deputies voted on Tuesday in favour of the bill drawn up by Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin's government, and 148 against.Villepin had told parliament disorder of "unprecedented gravity" justified extending emergency powers for three months. "The situation remains serious in a great number of districts. We cannot accept that more than 200 cars burn each night," he said, adding that nearly three weeks of rioting had destroyed 8500 vehicles and 100 public buildings. About 2800 people had been detained and 600 jailed, he said.
The Senate, or upper house, debates the law on Wednesday. Passage of the law seems certain because the ruling centre-right party dominates the two chambers of parliament. The government approved emergency powers including curfews last week that went into force on 9 November for 12 days, although only few areas have imposed curfews.