Passers-by are reflected in the broken window of a supermarket in Evreux, western France, Sunday Nov. 6, 2005
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 referring to Vichy France and Free France?Yes.
Wow, a stern reprimand.
I love that Pic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Passers-by are reflected in the broken window of a supermarket in Evreux, western France, Sunday Nov. 6, 2005
The media is questioning whether or not they are showing too many pictures of burned out cars.
"We have a collective concern, to not show pictures or say things that are provocative," that could egg the rioters on.
Ruh roh, that pic will send the envirowhackos into ectstasy.
Looks like the jihadis know how to push the left's joy buttons.
Hope there ain't any Wal-Marts in France.
[...King Ferdinand kicked muslim ass and took names. That's why Ysabel married him...]
Thank you for the correction. I thought it was her money that financed the ousting of infidels.
FoxNews live in Paris . . . Shootings in town South of Paris . . . 30 police wounded . . . serious gunfire . . . at least 2 cops in serious condition . . . more reports starting to come in from all over . . .
All I heard were the words "discussions" and "proposals," and, oh yes, listening to the concerns of the youth.
Perhaps they're going to conduct a round table and invite the youth to air their grievances? LOL
dozens of police hurt, some seriously.
Dana Lewis on FoxNews: Police morale "zero" . . . three female cops beaten near Normandy last night . . .
Also interesting is that the MSM has almost completely forgotten about the following... (Thanks to NW_Arizona_Granny for the link).
Parisian Intifada: jihadi conspiracy?
http://www.freerepublic.com/perl/post?id=1516699%2C371
"Media accounts have generally overlooked that the riots erupted days after sensational claims that French police were investigating plans by a group of Islamic extremists to attack targets in Paris. The accounts claimed the group was recruiting French citizens to train in the Middle East and return home to carry out terrorist attacks."
Sorry bad link...
Here is the right link for the article in post #391:
http://www.ww4report.com/node/1253
3 female cops "attacked" - called for backup - took 2 hours for reinforcements to arrive.
This all agrees with what I said. The Jihadists may not be on the front lines, but they are most likely instigating these yoots of "North African/Muslim origins". BTW, the "lesser extent" as used in the article as a discription of the Jihadists are Reuter's words and not a direct quote from the police. As such they're -- worthless.
Plus de l'article;
If the police were not chasing the youths then the riots are not a spontanoeus reaction to a real incident. They are instead, instigated...most likely by Jihadists who don't like the political direction the French government has taken in the WOT over the last few weeks.
Either that, or use it as a provocation to extend their intifada, even to here.
I can hear it now." Look, even the Americans are willing to negotiate."
Lets hope it doesn't come to that, but I fear it will.
Currently, a little after 10:00 PM in Paris and the rest of France.
As it is made of iron, I'm sure someone has already noted that the Eiffel Tower cannot burn UP, but it can MELT DOWN along with the rest of France, which is made of jello.
It sounds like the media over here is starting to report in real time, and that would be an improvement.
Why aren't there any CNN anchors over there? Where's Christiane Amanpour? It's amazing, how we have to dig for every little scrap of information.
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