French police officers staged a second night of protests overnight and booed their boss to decry anti-police violence and what they say are insufficient resources to combat criminal gangs as well as the threat of further terrorist attacks, Reuters informs.

Defying warnings of disciplinary action, hundreds of officers demonstrated in Marseille, Nice and Toulouse in a show of frustration that right-wing politicians have seized on to attack the Socialist government six months from an election.

Hundreds more jeered and hurled insults at national police chief Jean-Marc Falcone as he arrived for talks on security in Evry, a town near where a gang petrol-bombed four police officers in a patrol car earlier this month.

Opponents of President Francois Hollande say the number of no-go zones for police has proliferated during his mandate. Falcone defended the president who he said was still recruiting officers to fill thousands of posts axed by Hollande's predecessor, Nicolas Sarkozy.

Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve will meet police unions later on Wednesday in a bid to quell the protests.

Police say the gang tried to prevent the officers fleeing the burning vehicle. Two of the four police inside the car were seriously hurt, with one suffering life-threatening burns.