Posted on 11/06/2005 5:07:47 AM PST by Dane
Thousand cars torched in latest French riots Sun Nov 6, 2005 12:17 PM GMT
By Elisabeth Pineau
PARIS (Reuters) - Gangs of youths torched 1,300 vehicles overnight in the 10th consecutive night of violence in Paris's poor suburbs and major French towns, despite the deployment of thousands of extra police.
Cars were burnt out in the historic centre of Paris for the first time on Saturday night. In the normally quiet Normandy town of Evreux, a shopping mall, 50 vehicles, a post office and two schools went up in flames.
Authorities have so far found no way beyond appeals and more police to address a problem with complex social, economic and racial causes.
Evreux mayor Jean-Louis Debre, a confidant of President Jacques Chirac and speaker of the lower house of parliament, told France Info radio:
"To those responsible for the violence, I want to say: Be serious ... If you want to live in a fairer, more fraternal society, this is not how to go about it."
The deaths 10 days ago of two youths apparently fleeing police ignited pent up frustrations among young men, many of them Muslims of North and black African origin, at racism, unemployment, their marginal place in French society and their treatment by the police.
"Many youths have never seen their parents work and couldn't hold down a job if they got one," said Claude Chevallier, manager of a burned-out carpet depot in the rundown Paris suburb of Aulnay-sous-Bois.
But authorities now say the rolling nightly riots are being organised via the Internet and mobile phones, and have pointed the finger at drug traffickers and Islamist militants.
Overnight, 1,295 vehicles were torched across France, the highest total so far, police said. An extra 2,300 officers have been drafted in.
Seven police helicopters buzzed over the Paris region through the night, filming disturbances and directing mobile squads to incidents. Overnight, police made 349 arrests.
The number of incidents in the Paris region was similar to the night before, but in the provinces it was up sharply.
TARNISHED IMAGE
The violence has tarnished France's image abroad, forcing Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin to cancel a trip to Canada, while Russia and the United States have warned their citizens to avoid Paris's troubled suburbs.
Villepin has combined a call for an end to the riots with dialogue with community leaders, youngsters and local officials, and has promised an action plan for 750 tough neighbourhoods.
"I'll make proposals as early as this week," the weekly Journal du Dimanche quoted him as saying.
But it remained unclear what could stop the violence, though some opposition parties have suggested a symbolic measure -- the resignation of Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy.
Accused of stoking passions by calling troublemakers "scum", Sarkozy has ignored calls to quit. A survey published on Sunday indicated his public image was holding up, even if many disapproved of his strong language.
Villepin also has ambitions to be the right wing's presidential candidate in 2007 and has tried to position himself as a much more consensual figure than Sarkozy; the effect on the crisis on his ratings is still unclear.
With no end in sight to the nights of wailing sirens, acrid smoke, stone-throwing and destruction, residents from all ethnic backgrounds are tiring of the unrest.
"My kids can't sleep at night," said a mother named Samia in Aulnay-sous-Bois. "They hear explosions, they see fires and they think they're in a war. When the slightest thing happens, they get anxious and say 'Mama, what's going on?'"
Are you kidding? Israel from day one has back peddled and given into the Muslims in spite of on going atrocities against the Israelis. Not to mention the of broken promises, of the Muslins.
Israel is a case study in how not to deal with Muslims. - Tom
"Gangs of youths....."
When will they stop referring to these terrorists as "youths"?
The citizenry is not armed. The few police who are armed are not allowed to shoot.
The government also does not appear to recognize that this is not simple rioting, but an organized terrorist activity. The target of the torching is government buildings and transportation.
I suspect arms are being shipped into France for the rioters use, as we speak.
I wonder how Prince Charles is doing in his effort to convince our President to be more tolerant of Islam?
Earth First?
Anti-Frog Sarcasm Torpedo ARMED. FIRE!!
You might be right...
In fact we should applaud this goodwill gesture by the peace-loving peoples of France. Recall that Al Gore (who by the way *REALLY* won the 2000 election before the Supreme Court stole it for Bush) said in his seminal Earth in the Balance that the internal combustion engine was a greater threat to the survival of humanity than nuclear weapons.
So the French are merely practicing that enlightened European unilateral disarmament.
Full Disclosure: The term "seminal" seems more appropriate for Clinton than Gore, n'est-ce pas?
Of course there are complex social, economic and racial problems to be solved there, but those are other, secondary issues.
First, the violence needs to be stopped. Then, after it is made clear that this will not be tolerated, they can debate social utopia and economics all they want. There will be no meaningful discussion while things are burning and police and military are standing by and watching. Even the French will soon figure this out, or else they will have to submit to the occupiers' faith.
"To those responsible for the violence, I want to say: Be serious ... If you want to live in a fairer, more fraternal society, this is not how to go about it."
If this is France's response, then it is time I place a serious money bet that France will fall.
Anti Frog Sarcasm Torpedo ARMED. FIRE!!
"All your brie are belong to us"
"Tout de votre brie s'appartenant a nous"
Sarkozy should send in the military.
"To those responsible for the violence, I want to say: Be serious ... If you want to live in a fairer, more fraternal society, this is not how to go about it."
Powerful words. I'm sure that the Muslim youths of France are feeling mighty ashamed of themselves this morning after this dressing down.
"To those responsible for the violence, I want to say: Be serious ... If you want to live in a fairer, more fraternal society, this is not how to go about it."
These idiots think that drug traffickers and islamofacists are doing this because they want to live in a "fairer, more fraternal" society??? They need to WAKE UP and defend themselves before it is too late - because they "seriously" want to kill/destroy everyone and everything that is not muslim.
I'm really serious here. Well almost serious.
But like you all, I've been watching these events unfold over the past week or so and I'm wondering.
How long will this go on?
I mean, sooner or later it has to stop, right? Sooner or later the laughing must stop, seriousness must take over, right?
Can the world just sit by and allow France to be taken over by the Muslims? If that thought is abhorrent, then who's going to take action? Can the American army go into France and save it from its own citizens?
Will the Eiffel tower itself start burning soon? Suppose we do nothing, what will happen? Do you suppose the French will probably call on our help?
I'm really serious here. Hell I don't like France like the rest of America. If anyone reading remembers that Sci-Fi series called "Lost in Space", France would be the Doctor Smith of this planet. Always lying and deceiving, cowardly, playing dirty tricks. Yet in the end the lost in space family always saved Dr. Smith even when he risked their lives on some trickery he'd just played out.
How bad could this get to be I guess is what I'm asking here.
After the third day he should have sent in the military. They've been lucky so far with no "reported" deaths as far as we know.
Somebody posted a CNN poll last night and it showed 63% favored sending in the military for what's that worth.
OMG They ARE surrendering!
The rules:
Drink any time that an Islamofascist:
[Long list of genocidal Muslim actions deleted.]
Anti liberal Sarcasm Torpedo ARMED. FIRE!!
You fool! Ted Kennedy's been playing that game for YEARS!!
Full Disclosure: While we're playing, can we make the drink "Martel" four-star? (Read Mark Steyn's column...)
Within the next 12 months, the French government will be offering to become an islamic republic, forcing conversion to islam upon all citizens and beheading any who do not convert.........in exchange for the end to rioting.
You and me both brother. Nothing but beautiful fall colours outside my window. Just the trees and the birds, not an Islamonutcase in sight.
Indeed. This Jihad comprises young immigrant Muslims and unemployed, Muslim graduates of the French public education system.
IOW, "Home bred idiots being lead by ideologues."
What is it about these thugs that France likes so much and keeps bringing more and more into their country?
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