that their reporters had been attacked on the scene. President Jacques Chirac declares a state of emergency following an emergency session of his cabinet, and the re-activation of a 1955 law enacted during the Algerian War, allowing local authorities to impose curfews, beginning on Tuesday, 12 PM, with an initial 12-day limit. Night – 13th night of rioting Protestant church in Meulan attacked. Youths threw firebombs at police and set cars ablaze in suburb of Toulouse. Dozens of youths set fire to at least 10 cars and threw objects at police. As of midnight Central European Time, the French Republic is placed under a State of Emergency. The cities of Orléans, Blois and Amiens imposed curfews on minors below 16 years of age. Senior interior ministry official Claude Gueant said police had seen "a very significant drop" in the intensity of the unrest. The number of cars set alight across France overnight Tuesday to Wednesday fell to 617, hundreds fewer than the night before. Some 280 people were arrested and disturbances broke out in 116 areas, half the number affected the preceding night. Public transport in Lyon was shut down after a Molotov cocktail hit a train station. In Bordeaux, a Molotov cocktail hit a gas-powered bus. Wednesday 9 November Day French businesses are worried that the cost of the past 13 nights of rioting that has swept the country could go beyond clean-up to hurt investment and consumer confidence going into the all-important winter shopping season. Concerns about the violence helped push the euro to two-year lows against the US dollar as companies postpone investment in some of the affected areas, potential tourists watch neighborhoods burn on television and the stakes increase the longer the riots continue. Daniel Feurtet, the communist mayor of the riot-hit Le Blanc-Mesnil district, threatened to quit. "If the prefect decides to impose a curfew in one of our areas, I'll hand in my resignation right away", he told Le Monde newspaper, referring to the regional government officials empowered to impose curfews. Interior minister Nicolas Sarkozy has ordered the expulsion of all foreigners convicted of taking part in the riots that have swept France for 13 nights. He told parliament 120 foreigners had been found guilty of involvement and would be deported without delay. Night – 14th night of rioting Authorities imposed curfews in 38 areas, including Marseille, Nice, Cannes, Strasbourg, Lyon, Toulouse and Paris.