A mob was also reported to have grabbed hunting rifles as they looted a gun shop on on Friday night.

Police armoured cars and heavily armed paramilitary units were moving to confront gangs cutting a swathe of devastation across the nation.

But street strife is expected to escalate further following today's funeral of Nahel Merzouk - the 17-year-old whose shooting at the wheel of his car triggered the crisis.

Tension soared as thousands of mourners thronged the Muslim service for the French Algerian youth said to have been "executed" by a single shot on Tuesday.

An Interior Ministry source said: "France has not seen nationwide unrest on this scale since World War II - it is out of control."

Anti-police fury spiralled further as a leaked police intelligence report today said: "We are at war with savage hordes of vermin."

Police had made a further 1,300 arrests by early this morning after four nights of chaos as Macron appeared increasingly powerless.