Posted on 06/08/2003 8:46:35 PM PDT by quidnunc
British war heroes on a religious pilgrimage told last night of their shock when French police attacked them with tear gas in a hotel bar.
Scores of servicemen and their guests some in wheelchairs were stunned as 30 cops threw three gas canisters at them in the town of Lourdes, renowned for miracle cures.
One member of the official delegation of Catholic soldiers said: All hell broke loose. People ran out coughing and choking. Some braved the fumes to help those in wheelchairs get out.
They were in a terrible state afterwards. It all happened without a single word of warning.
Police chiefs in Lourdes visited by hundreds of thousands each year for its healing waters said the 2am incident happened because the pilgrims were breaking a local by-law that bans late-night boozing.
But one soldier said: Nobody told us to go to bed or keep the noise down. One minute everyone was having a convivial time and the next we were under attack.
The whole episode was a disgrace. We were on a religious pilgrimage, yet we were treated like football hooligans.
David Kelly, chaplain of the Royal Military College at Shrivenham, Oxfordshire, added: There was no reason for this sudden onslaught.
Everyone was celebrating the end of a very special trip when the police burst in and mayhem broke out.
-snip-
(Excerpt) Read more at thesun.co.uk ...
Lourdes police commissioner Didier Ribeyrolle admitted the use of tear gas was inappropriate
But he said: The hotel showed a lax attitude to our by-laws. Some patrons may have been shocked by the methods used, but the rules must be respected.
Maybe they ought to apply the same standards to some of the places where young Muslim toughs are holding large sections of French cities hostage.
Ah those subtle minded and sophisticated French.
Evidently they're tough enough because the French gendarmes are reported to be loathe to tackle them.
I think it's a slap at the British; the UK Ambassador to France should demand an explanation.
This goes beyond mere municipal rule-breaking.
The French ought to remember that they haven't done well in conflicts with Britain.
Which explains why they attacked only cripples and elderly.
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