Rioters exchanged gunfire with police in the French Alpine city of Grenoble yesterday, setting fire to shops and cars after police shot dead a man accused of robbing a casino.

Youths torched between 50 and 60 cars in the southeastern city nestled in the French Alps, as well as construction equipment and two shops, while police said they made five arrests.

Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux showed up at the scene later yesterday, vowing to quickly restore order to the working class La Villeneuve neighbourhood.

The rioting started after a memorial service for 27-year-old Karim Boudouda, who had died 24 hours earlier in a shootout with police after allegedly holding up the Uriage-les-Bains casino near Grenoble.

Shortly before midnight, a group of around 30 youths armed with baseball bats and iron bars attacked a tram in Boudouda's La Villeneuve district and forced the passengers to get out.

Police intervened to protect the passengers, and the youths began torching vehicles and attacking police who responded with tear gas.

At around 2.30 a.m., a youth emerged at the front of the rioters and fired a shot at police, who returned fire four times, police spokeswoman Brigette Jullien told AFP.

Nobody was injured in the riots, said police, who arrested two men aged 18 and 20 for setting fire to vehicles and three more for attempted looting of shops.

By yesterday afternoon while the neighbourhood appeared calm, Hortefeux, with a horde of media in tow, made a lightning 15-minute tour of La Villeneuve and promised quick action by the authorities.