French riot police give advice to UK

The CRS say the British police are not equipped to deal with major public order problems

FRENCH riot police have offered advice to their British counterparts on how to deal with disturbances and looting.

According to Le Monde, interior minister Claude Guéant has passed on a series of public order tips from the CRS to the police in the UK, in what the paper described as an "exchange of experience".

Some French officers say the British police are not equipped to deal with major public order problems and are making "mistakes that put their own safety at risk".

The French riot force has been condemned in the past for its "brutality".

A spokesperson for the British Embassy in Paris said: "In the UK, dialogue with communities has, in the long-term, allowed us to avoid confrontation."