Second night of riots in Paris over 'burka ban' fine On both Friday and Saturday night heavily armed riot police could be seen taking part in running skirmishes with youths, while there were reports of flash guns being used to disperse the crowd. The violence is the latest in a string of incidents related to the controversial "burka ban" which was introduced across France in 2011. It means that women found guilty of wearing veils in public can be fined the equivalent of £130 and be forced to attend citizenship classes. Last month police were attacked on an estate in the Paris suburb of Argenteuil after arresting two men who also objected to a woman being stopped for wearing a full face veil. Some 40 riot police had to be called to the area to restore order, with tear gas being used. A 21-year-old pregnant woman was also attacked by suspected vigilantes for covering her face with a veil on the same council estate. In March, a Frenchman who ripped a Muslim woman's veil off her eyes was given a five-month suspended prison sentence. The 30-year-old said he was merely trying to "enforce" his country's laws when he carried out the attack in the city of Nantes. The man later told a court he was a firm believer in the law brought in by government of former president Nicolas Sarkozy. But the judge said that he had acted like a "vigilante" and carried out the attack solely because he was prejudiced against the women's faith. Mr Sarkozy had described Muslim face coverings as an affront to the principles of the French Republic, saying that they could be used by both shoplifters and terrorists to hide their identities. Amnesty International is among human rights groups who have condemned the law, saying it breaches the right of freedom of expression. On Sunday police helicopters could be seen circling over Trappes, the hometown of former Chelsea and France footballer Nicolas Anelka, as armoured vans surrounded the police HQ. Officers fear that high summer temperature may encourage crowds to gather over the weekend so as to once more target the police.