Sporadic violence follows win

Paris: Erratic violence flared in Paris and Lyon on Sunday after Nicolas Sarkozy was elected in a closely fought campaign, as president.

Security forces fired tear gas at around 2,000 protesters who gathered in Paris. Witnesses report seeing masked youth throwing missiles at police.

Police report that four police officers and another person were injured in the skirmish.

The southeastern city of Lyon also saw some violence with demonstrators gathering in the main square where police used tear gas against them. Police have yet to confirm the number of people arrested.

There were also reports of sporadic violence in suburbs outside Paris. These included Argenteuil, a hotbed in the 2005 riots, where four vehicles were set alight.

The defeated socialist party allege Sarkozy is dangerous for the nation as he his authoritarian and hard-line, qualities which will worsen tensions in poorer, mulit-racial suburbs in the larger cities.