PARIS: It appears that there is no love for John Travolta, as location filming for his new film in a Paris suburb has been suspended after arsonists burnt a fleet of stunt cars.

Scenes from the thriller “From Paris With Love” were due to be shot at Montfermeil this week, but the shoot has been postponed “indefinitely” after ten stunt cars were torched late Sunday night.

Montfermeil, a northeast Paris suburb riddled with poverty, unemployment, and criminality, was at the epicentre of 2005 youth riots in immigrant-populated French towns.

Investigations are underway, as security guards spotted someone with a jerrycan of petrol at the car park where the cars were burnt.

Montfermeil mayor Xavier Lemoine has expressed “deep disappointment” at the cancellation of the shoots for which 100 locals were hired as extras, cooks and security staff.

Directed by Frenchman Pierre Morel, the US$56 million action feature which stars Travolta as a US secret agent and “The Tudors” actor Jonathan Rhys Meyer, highlights problems in the rough neighbourhoods surrounding Paris.

It began shooting in the Alpine town of Annecy late last month and will continue for the next two and half months in various locations across France.

- CNA/sl/il