Public gatherings are banned in Paris starting from Saturday morning to Sunday morning to prevent the country's worst ever suburban unrest from spreading into the city center over the weekend, the police announced.

The ban, which runs from 10 a.m. (0900 GMT) Saturday to 8 a.m. (0700GMT) Sunday, applies to "all meetings likely to start or fuel disorder," police said.

The lasting violence saw a slight increase across the country overnight Friday, which was the holiday of Armistice that marks the end of the First World War.

A total of 502 vehicles were burned and 206 people arrested, up from 395 vehicles torched and 168 people detained on the previous night, according to the national police.

More than 7,000 vehicles have been torched and over 2,500 people arrested during the last 16 days of violence, which was sparked on Oct. 27 after the accidental electrocution of two teenagers fleeing police identity check in the northeast of Paris.

Source: Xinhua