About 100 youths clashed on Tuesday with subway inspectors and police at Paris' Gare du Nord metro station, which was closed to traffic after the incident, transport officials said. The Gare du Nord long-distance rail hub and Eurostar terminal, which is attached to the subway station, remained open, The Associated Press quoted. A standoff between police officers and about 100 youths was still under way early Tuesday evening, said officials from Paris' RATP public transport authority. The incident began when an illegal immigrant punched two subway inspectors during a routine ticket check at the Gare du Nord, in northeastern Paris, officials said. Youths also attacked the inspectors and later turned on police officers patrolling the station, officials said. «The inspectors were hit with projectiles, as were the officers who came to assist them,» said Luc Poignant, an official for the Force Ouvrier police union. Transit officials have closed the metro station to subway traffic, officials said.
