STOCKHOLM—A week of riots here stemming from allegations of widespread racism and reflecting a growing socioeconomic rift eased over the weekend, but not before dealing Sweden's reputation for equality and tolerance a severe black eye.
Several suburbs of Stockholm during the past week witnessed arson attacks and violence against police called in to limit the damage. Dozens of people were arrested and more than 100 automobiles set on fire, eroding the predictability that underpins Swedish life.
Many have attributed the riots to teenagers with too much spare time, a lack of direction and a desire for attention. Millions live in the sprawling metropolitan Stockholm area, but only hundreds are believed to have been involved in riots and even fewer to have participated in vandalism or violence.
"It's really very simple," Fredrik Karrholm, a political columnist, wrote in an editorial published Sunday in Swedish Dagladet. "Some boys are allowed to run around and wreak havoc….They resort to violence for the fun of it, for the adrenaline rush."
Mr. Karrholm, like many Stockholm locals, insists there is no deeper political meaning. Still, the riots have drawn close attention to recent reports of a growing economic divide that appears to be cutting along ethnic lines.
In Husby, where 11,000 people are estimated to live and where the rioting began on May 19, 20% of those considered to be youths are not in school and do not have jobs, according to data published Sunday by Stockholm daily Dagens Nyheter. Sweden's overall unemployment rate, by contrast, is 8.7%.