Cars and bins were torched in parts of Paris and across France overnight for the second night of unrest.

Media reports and images showed protesters launching fireworks at riot police, who fired projectiles to try to disperse the angry crowds.

A tram line in a Paris suburb was also reportedly set alight.

The French AFP news agency cited a police source as saying several cars were torched in the city of Toulouse, and responding police and firefighters were pelted with projectiles. Reports of similar scenes emerged also from Dijon and Lyon. 

The same source also said protesters attacked security officers with fireworks at the entrance of Fresnes, the second-largest prison complex in France.

"They did not enter the prison grounds. The police were quickly called in," the source said.

The mayor of Mons-en-Baroeul, outside the northern city of Lille, told AFP that some 50 hooded individuals stormed the town hall, which was later set on fire.