It's Car-B-Q season

France's national holiday, Bastille Day has been overshadowed by a night of rioting in which more than 300 cars were torched on the streets of Paris and other cities.

Despite a deployment of 10,000 police officers, the number of cars set alight represents a rise of almost seven percent from the previous year. Youths threw home-made explosives and fireworks to set alight bins and cars, before targeting police officers, 13 of whom were wounded in the riots.

A total of 240 arrests were made -- almost double the number recorded in 2008.

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