Posted on 11/02/2005 2:34:10 PM PST by Ben Mugged
straight nights of clashes between French police and rioters in Paris-area housing projects are laying bare simmering discrimination and ethnic tensions lying just under the country's officially colorblind creed of liberty, equality and fraternity.
The riots have gone far beyond law-and-order tangles between youths hurling stones and Molotov cocktails and police responding with tear gas. Eighteen months before French presidential elections, they have taken on a raw political edge as they fuel partisan bickering and existing divisions within the ruling center-right Union for a Popular Movement party.
On Wednesday, French President Jacques Chirac waded into the fray for the first time, after keeping silent for nearly a week. At a ministerial meeting, Chirac appealed for firmness, but also for dialogue and respect in treating the largely ethnic North African-Muslim communities where the riots have taken place.
"We have to redouble our efforts to assure equal opportunities," Chirac added, touching on what activists say is a key root to the violence in communities where French citizens of immigrant origins remain second-class citizens in their own country.
(Excerpt) Read more at upi.com ...
Chirac surrenders......
he's got to be tired of grabbing his ankles all the time.
Actually, part of the problem here really does relate to equal access to jobs.
And you know who is locking the immigrants out of job opportunities? The labor unions.
The leftist French unions have so locked down the economy and jobs that its absolutely impossible for outsiders to find a niche.
There's no breathing room in the economy. And not just for outsiders. Try opening up a small business in France.
So they permit a large immigrant population to grow but then lock them out of all existing jobs (owned by union members) in a system that has virtually no economic growth.
Then they paper-over the failure with welfare.
Leftism fails at every level.
Sarkozy -- who sparked outrage earlier this year by vowing to "clean out" another suburb rocked by ethnic violence -- blasted this week's rioters as "scum."
&&
At least one frog can see through the PC haze.
Good News!
Chirac appealed for firmness! This is somewhat surprising, the French are usually pretty tough when the other side is unarmed.
"It's a sort of North-South clash in the midst of European societies," she said. "They want to wage war against Europe and the West as if they were in Iraq or Algeria."
Gee Whiz, who could possibly have seen this coming? (Duh)
Just a bizarre sidenote here. I watched a documentary this morning on HBO about cannibalism. They profiled this Japanese guy who moved to Paris in the 70s and wound murdering and eating, yes, eating a young woman. The French courts found him insane and he was deported to Japan. There was nothing in the paperwork about keeping him locked up so he now walks the streets a free man. He's actually a minor celebrity now, writing restaurant reviews and such (The Japanese are pretty friggin wierd too). Moral of the story: if you can't be put away for cannibalism in France, rioting is nothing.
"And so today," he said, "Europe is paying for its lack of foresight and generosity toward these people."
They just need to be more generous, that's it!
Absolutely not. They have broken the law, destroyed private property and are leeching off the rest of society. They either obey the rules, or should be deported or shot.
End of discussion.
Regards, Ivan
I've been scanning some of these articles (not much interested), and have a really dumb question: are these rioters Muslims? I've been assuming they're not, but some of the comments I've seen make me think they are. The articles aren't clear. Can anyone clear this up?
First mistake: allowing the immigrant population to "grow" - and being Muslim.
Then they paper-over the failure with welfare.
Second mistake: giving them welfare.
Frankly, we are making some of the same mistakes. But, fortunately, most of our "immigrants" aren't Muslim.
The French are in a real, real, bind here. Civil war is on the horizon. Not now, but in a few years.
Lots of BS on this thread, Fox News just announced that rioters are MUSLIMS and Nort Africanos, when they start rioting here in US, there is a significant number of armed population just waiting for opportunity to send bunch of them to allah quickly, efficiently and at no cost to taxpayer whatsoever.
It should read: French surrender to muslim ragheaded scumbag terrorists.
They're muslim.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.