Germany ordered more police onto Berlin's streets on Monday after five cars were set ablaze in a poor district, fearing that the riot in France be copied in the German capital.

Five cars were burned during the weekend in separate streets in Berlin's Moabit district, where a large number of immigrants live. Nobody was injured.

A Berlin police spokesman said that extra patrols were taken as a "preventive measure."

On Sunday night, France was hit by new race violence after 1, 400 vehicles were torched by angry mobs. Gangs of youths burned cars, shops and businesses across the country as the flames of discontent spread in towns such as Toulouse, Nantes, Strasbourg, Rouen, Rennes and Orleans.

French President Jacques Chirac vowed to restore order. "The Republic is determined to be stronger than those who want to sow violence or fear. The law must have the last word," he said Sunday night.

In Berlin, outgoing Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's spokesman, Thomas Steg stressed that the situation in Germany was totally different from France.

Youth unemployment is an important factor behind the riot in France. Nearly 22 percent of people at the age of 15 to 24 have no jobs in France and the rate is 13.8 percent in Germany.

However, German politicians warned that measures should be taken to prevent riot by youths.

The German news agency DPA quoted Michael Mueller, a member of the Social Democratic Party, as saying that the events in France showed that Germany could not afford to trim back its social welfare programs.

"Social conflicts and disintegration are increasing in Germany, "he said.

Source: Xinhua