PARIS, France (CNN) -- As midnight passes in France a government-declared state of emergency begins, triggering curfews in cities and towns after 12 days of the worst civil unrest the nation has seen in decades.Saying "the republic is at an hour of truth," French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin announced sweeping reforms aimed at stopping the of violence and treating the social problems that caused them.Shortly after he spoke on Tuesday, local officials began imposing curfews in cities around France, a step that will allow police to jail rioters for up to two months.In remarks to the National Assembly, France's parliament, de Villepin acknowledged the social unrest was the result of France's failure to provide hope to thousands of young people, most of them French citizens, the children of Muslim immigrants from northern Africa. (Watch France's problem of inequality -- 3:12)The rioting in dozens of towns around the country has shocked France, resulted in more than 1,500 arrests and the torching of thousands of vehicles. "What is in question," said the prime minister, "it is our republic and our model of integration," which he said was "founded on the equal recognition of all our citizens.""The fight against all discrimination must be a priority because it has an incredible cost on our community."De Villepin divided his address, spending the first portion on steps the government will take to crack down on violence and the last half on social programs to deal with discrimination."The state will be firm and just," he vowed.On Tuesday morning, the French cabinet invoked a 1955 law that allows for local officials to impose curfews on French cities."We will guarantee the public order for each of our citizens," said De Villepin.He said 9,500 police, including police reserves, had been called up to deal with the unrest, which has spread to more than 200 French towns and cities.Of the 1,500 people arrested, he said, 600 had been placed in temporary detention and about 100 jailed.De Villepin said moves were already under way to strengthen the intelligence-gathering capability of French authorities, noting that some of the violence had been organized through Internet blogs that have now been shut down.In order for French society to provide the same changes and opportunities to all its citizens, said de Villepin, 30 billion euros will be spent in France's riot zones, with the focus primarily on helping young people.The prime minister said the French employment agency would focus on 239 hot zones to help provide jobs for 1.5 million people. France's national unemployment rate is about 10 percent, but in areas hit by rioting the level is nearer 40 percent.He said money will be spent to provide apprenticeships for students 14 years old and older who want to leave school. But he stressed the program will allow those young people to go back to school to gain the knowledge they need to succeed better at the jobs.In addition, said de Villepin, funds will be channeled toward providing 100,000 scholarships as well as providing better access to upper-level colleges and universities.To entice people off state subsidies and back to work, de Villepin said, unemployed workers will get 1,000 euros plus a monthly supplement to go back to jobs.De Villepin announced the creation of an agency for "social cohesion" which will go into riot zones, be in direct contact with mayors and local officials, and provide programs to deal with hot-button issues like joblessness and discrimination.In addition, he announced that local associations, such as civic and religious groups, would receive 100,000 euros for outreach programs.But CNN's Jim Bittermann said the emergency measures allowing curfews had provoked outrage in many of the communities affected by the unrest. "They could have a dramatic effect," he said. "Many Muslims told us these laws were last used in Algeria in the 1950s, and were a provocation for those who lived through what they described as the 'outrages and torture' of the war of independence."President Jacques Chirac has said the new powers are "necessary to accelerate the return to calm." Besides curfews, other measures include allowing police to carry out raids for suspected stockpiling of weapons. The emergency powers can last up to 12 days. Curfews had already been imposed in some parts of Paris overnight Monday, although the intensity of violence that has hit nearly 300 towns across the country eased from the night before.Youths killedThe first death of the riots was reported on Monday. Jean Jacques Le Chenadec, 61, a resident of the Paris suburb of Stains in the region of Seine-Saint-Denis, died from injuries suffered outside his apartment building Friday night, officials said.The riots began after two youths of North African descent were electrocuted when they hid in an electric power station, believing they were being followed by police.Since then, the rioting has spread from the Paris outskirts to inside the city limits as well as to poor neighborhoods across the country, shocking French society.Rioters have hit towns such as Lille in the north to Rouen and Orleans in the west, the Mediterranean cities of Nice and Cannes, and Strasbourg and Colmar in the east, with youths attacking shops, schools and a police station.Fears were also growing that the unrest could take hold elsewhere in Europe. Cars have been torched in both Brussels and Berlin, and police said they were investigating if they were copycat attacks. (Full story)Opposition groups on the left, including the Green Party and the Communist Party, have called for Sarkozy to resign after he called the rioters "scum" last week -- language that inflamed the vandalism. (Watch French teens explain why they're angry -- 2:08)The spreading violence has shocked national leaders and community residents into action, with mediators and religious leaders talking to the youths in an effort to stop the violence.French Muslim groups also issued a fatwa against the violence, Reuters reported. (Full story)The Union of French Islamic Organizations (UOIF) condemned the disorder and destruction the riots had caused.Australia, Austria, Britain, Germany and Hungary advised their citizens to exercise care in France, joining the United States and Russia in warning tourists to stay away from violence-hit areas.Copyright 2005 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.