Hundreds of French police raided homes in a Paris suburb yesterday and made several arrests after an incident earlier this month in which four officers were injured, authorities said.

The operation, accompanied by journalists and camera teams, took place in the early hours of yesterday morning in Grigny, south of Paris. There was no immediate word on the number of arrests.

The four officers were hurt on March 2 after being confronted by a group of people gathered near a baker's shop that had been vandalised. Three officers were hit in the face by lead shot and a fourth was hit in the leg by shot and nails.

The police raid followed a similar operation last month in which more than 30 people were arrested on suspicion of involvement in violent clashes with police in the suburb of Villers-le-Bel in November.

The action, which took place a day after local elections inflicted big losses on the governing centre-right UMP party, underlined the sensitivity of urban security in France more than two years after the largest outbreak of riots seen in decades. The riots of November 2005 saw weeks of street battles between police and gangs of youths, highlighting the tensions in the poor suburbs that ring many French towns and cities.