Unrest spreads to nine French towns
Wednesday, November 2, 2005; Posted: 2:07 a.m. EST (07:07 GMT)
http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/11/02/france.riots.ap/index.html
PARIS, France (AP) -- Unrest spread across troubled suburbs around
Paris in a sixth night of violence as police clashed with angry youths and
scores of vehicles were torched in at least nine towns, local officials
said.
Police in riot gear fired rubber bullets late Tuesday at advancing
gangs of youths in Aulnay-sous-Bois -- one of the worst-hit suburbs --
where 15 cars were burned,
(snipped)
Youths lobbed Molotov cocktails at an annex to the town hall and threw
stones at the firehouse.
(snipped)
Four people were arrested for throwing stones at police in nearby Bondy
where 14 cars were burned, the prefecture said. A fire engulfed a
carpet store, but it was not immediately clear whether the blaze was linked
to the suburban unrest.
Officials gave an initial count of 69 vehicles torched in nine suburbs
across the Seine-Saint-Denis region that arcs Paris on the north and
northeast.
The area, home mainly to families of immigrant origin, often from
Muslim North Africa, is marked by soaring unemployment and delinquency.
Anger and despair thrive in the tall cinder-block towers and long "bars"
that typically make up housing projects in France.
No trouble was immediately reported in Clichy-sous-Bois, where rioting
began Thursday following the accidental deaths of two teenagers hiding
to escape police in a power substation.
They were electrocuted while trying to hide from the police. A third
was injured. Officials have said police were not pursuing the boys, aged
15 and 17.
Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin met Tuesday with the parents of
the three families, promising a full investigation of the deaths and
insisting on "the need to restore calm," the prime minister's office said.
Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy -- blamed by many for fanning the
violence with tough talk and harsh tactics -- met Tuesday night in Paris
with youths and officials from Clichy-sous-Bois in a bid to cap days of
rioting. But the unrest spread even as they met. Sarkozy recently
referred to the troublemakers as "scum" and "riffraff."
An Associated Press Television news team witnessed confrontations
between about 20 police and 40 youths in Aulnay-sous-Bois with police firing
tear gas and rubber bullets.
Officials said that "small, very mobile gangs" were harassing police
and setting fires to garbage cans and vehicles throughout the region.
France-Info radio said some 150 blazes were reported in garbage bins,
cars and buildings across Seine-Saint-Denis. The unrest highlighted the
division between France's big cities and their poor satellites.
Tension had mounted throughout Tuesday after young men torched cars,
garbage bins and even a primary school 24 hours earlier. Scores of cars
were reported burned Monday night in Clichy-sous-Bois and 13 people were
jailed.
Youths set two rooms of a primary school in Sevran on fire Monday along
with several cars, Mayor Stephane Gatignon said in a statement.
Wowser Granny.
France has it's hands full.
Hmmmm, I hadn't really realized that "youth" is known as the group name, not a reference to their tender ages.
ABDELWAHEB BAKLI, 31, MUSLIM YOUTH OF FRANCE PRESIDENT
OMAR AIT BOUALI, 44, YOUTH WORKER IN AUBERVILLIERS
SAMIA AMARA, 23, YOUTH WORKER NEAR PARIS
BRAHIM ELHADI, 29, YOUTH WORKER IN LILLE
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4376500.stm
"Police in riot gear fired rubber bullets late Tuesday at advancing gangs of youths in Aulnay-sous-Bois -- one of the worst-hit suburbs -- where 15 cars were burned"
One of the french visionaries did say they were told that Paris would burn...it might have been the children who saw Our Lady of La Sallette.