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?'"
Exactly. Announce martial law on the first evening and started shooting people immediately afterwards and the violence would have been over within 48 hours. Then, ship every single person involved back to whatever hole they were escaping from. Let's see a pampered 2nd generation freeloader trying to live in a truly oppressive society for very long...
It's all about Iraq, isn't it?
Yep, it's all about Iraq and...
India and the Sudan and Algeria and Afghanistan and New York and Pakistan and Israel and Russia and Chechnya and the Philippines and Indonesia and Nigeria and Thailand and Spain and Egypt and Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia and Ingushetia and Dagestan and Britain and Turkey and Kabardino-Balkaria and Morocco and Yemen and Lebanon and France and Uzbekistan and Gaza and Tunisia and Kosovo and Bosnia and Mauritania and Kenya and Eritrea and Syria and Somalia and California and Kuwait and Virginia and Ethiopia and Iran and Jordan and United Arab Emirates and Louisiana and Texas and Tanzania and Sri Lanka and Pennsylvania and Belgium and Denmark and East Timor and Qatar and Maryland and the Netherlands and Scotland and...
...and pretty much wherever Muslims believe their religion tells them to:
"Fight and slay the Unbelievers wherever ye find them. Seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem of war."
Qur'an, Sura 9:5
" The List " of Islamic Terror Attacks For the Past 12 Months:
http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/default.htm#attacks
Thanks for the link, USF
I think this is about the destruction of Sarkozy. Chirac will allow Paris/France to burn to rid himself of this opponent.
If that were to happen in the US, it would be big news, seems to be an everyday occurence in france.
If they had started shooting then, people like Chris Matthews and his ilk would have screamed bloody murder for the poor "YOUTHS" and whined that the police had initiated violence that could have been avoided by doing exactly what they are doing now which is nothing. It's darned if you do, darned if you don't. MSM, Liberals, Demoncats, and European socialists never have original solutions or plans. They are only good at being contrary to common sense.
What's that Sura that tells muslims to start killing the infidel after the end of Ramadan (holy days)? We have seven days (I think) until it ends...I wonder if the riots will evolve then.
I had no idea that the "YOUTHS" made up 10% of France's population. How many "YOUTHS" are in this country or how many "YOUTHS" are in Michigan? Does anyone know?
Ah but if it was 20 or 30 years ago. Chirac might get away with that. Not now I'm afraid.
I think Chirac is thinking his world is upside down.
This is going to my liberal friend who is retired State Department and doesn't believe jihads have been around for a long time.
Thanks to each of you. As the Irish say, "Bless your eyes"!
I LOVE Free Republic. Rapid Response Team in action again!
Leni
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1516918/posts
Chirac has simply found a way to get rid of his opponent. Sarkozy will be thrown out of the party. The 'buer yoots' are making the clerics happy. Sarkozy may form an opposition party. (He will need many many bodyguards!)
GO VLAD! IMPALE THEM!
You nailed it.
Tell your liberal friend to read Muir's 'The Caliphate, Its Rise, Decline and Fall.
http://answering-islam.org.uk/Books/Muir/Caliphate/index.htm
And on my bio page, there are links to the works of Edward, Canon Sell. One of them is the biography of mohammad published in 1913. pdf download.
The picture I saw of one being arrested contradicted the idea that these are just school kids. The one in the picture appesred to be a very mature "youth" as he had a bald spot on the crown of his head.
So we're at night #11. Any bets on how many more nights this thing will continue?
Until the French decide it's worth it to shoot a couple of these jihadists, it will go on indefinitely.
Must be a heck of a week at Paris dealerships when all those insurance checks come in...
I think we'll be having a thread on this topic on Thanksgiving and possibly well beyond that.
I thought the US was the #1 enemy of the jihadis, bit I guess they recognize the futility of fighting us openly and have turned their attention to the French who they perceive to be a weaker enemy.
NICE WORK CHIRAC! You should have sttod with us.
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