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French police have arrested more than 30 people in raids on housing estates near Paris, targeting the suspected ringleaders of riots last November.

Some 1,000 police took part in the pre-dawn sweep in and around Villiers-le-Bel, some 20km (12 miles) north of the capital, officials said.

The 2007 riots began in Paris's mainly immigrant suburbs after two teenagers died in a crash with a police car.

More than 100 policemen were injured at the time, some seriously.

In December, police handed out leaflets in the suburb calling for witnesses and promising rewards of up to several thousand euros for information.

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The clashes were a bitter reminder of the nationwide riots of 2005, when France was forced to call a state of emergency after weeks of violence in its poor and mainly immigrant suburbs.

Earlier this month, President Nicolas Sarkozy announced a three-year plan to deploy 4,000 more police and roll out a half-billion euro (£375m) aid lifeline to flashpoint neighbourhoods.

Mr Sarkozy also promised to help 100,000 people find work and declared a "war without mercy" on drug dealers.

More than 20 people have been arrested in Denmark following eight consecutive nights of youth rioting and vandalism across the country, police say.

They are suspected of setting fire to buildings, schools, cars and rubbish bins in Copenhagen and other cities.

Police say the unrest, which started on 10 February, appears to be subsiding.

It is not clear what triggered the riots. Reports say the youths - mainly with immigrant backgrounds - have been accusing police of harassment.

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The violence erupted soon after Danish police introduced their stop-and-search policy, allowing officers to search people at random for weapons.

Some observers say last week's reprinting by Danish newspapers of a cartoon satirising the Prophet Muhammad might have fuelled the riots.

The publication came a day after Denmark's security services arrested three Muslims suspected of plotting to kill one of the cartoonists.