An outdoor party in Paris dubbed "Sausage and Booze" has been banned by French police, who believe the large contingent of local Muslims will become offended - and violent.



The Goutte-d'Or neighborhood of northern Paris is so jam-packed with Muslims that prayer-time overflow from area mosques pours into the street.



The Friday party, on the Muslim Sabbath, was to have featured pork sausages and alcohol, both foods forbidden by Islamic law.



Organizers of the event said they were holding the festivities as a form of protest against the Islamization of France and the encroachment of Muslim values in the neighborhood.  Several streets in the area are blocked during Friday prayers.



Muslim groups had announced a counterparty serving halal (Muslim-certified) food.



Police ultimately chose to ban both events, which they saw as creating a grave risk of a public squabble.  Furthermore, the events would have coincided with the World Cup soccer match between England and predominantly-Muslim Algeria.



In late 2005, massive riots flared up in Paris following the accidental deaths of two Muslim boys during an investigation by police into a possible break-in.  Approximately 2,900 Muslim rioters were arrested in the following weeks.  Almost 9,000 private cars were torched by the protestors, and 200 million Euros in overall damage was reported.



Since 1989, a ban on burqas and hijabs in state schools has been in place. Jewish yarmulkes are also forbidden in state schools, under the same law. However, both can be worn in French universities.  In May, ongoing protests by Muslims over the burqa and hijab ban turned violent, with fistfights breaking out prior to the arrival of police.



Islam is now the second-largest religion in France, with approximately 10% of the population adhering to it.