Virus lockdown raises tensions in France’s poorest areas

CLICHY-SOUS-BOIS, France (AP) — France’s coronavirus lockdown is raising tensions in housing projects and poor suburbs where many immigrants live. Open-air markets in these areas are closed, supermarket prices are skyrocketing and people are out of work. The mayor of Clichy-Sous-Bois, the scene of riots in 2005, has been sounding the alarm. Residents there and in other impoverished areas stand in long lines for handouts of food. Some experts warn of a deepening social crisis that could explode amid the health emergency. Alongside the food crisis, there have been scattered incidents of violence recently with youths confronting police. The French government has announced a plan for food aid of nearly $42 million for the needy.