Posted on 11/06/2005 1:21:11 PM PST by JustaCowgirl
By Elizabeth Pineau and Sophie Louet
PARIS (Reuters) - President Jacques Chirac on Sunday vowed to restore order in France after riots in Paris spread across the country and began to unnerve his European neighbours.
"The Republic is quite determined, by definition, to be stronger than those who want to sow violence or fear," Chirac said after a special domestic security council met to respond to the latest violence in which 1,300 vehicles went up in flames.
"The law must have the last word," Chirac said in his first public comments since the riots started in the poor suburbs, noting the importance of the respect of all, the law and the equality of chances.
Signs of a fresh wave of violence emerged on Sunday evening when youths seized a bus in Saint-Etienne, in southern France, ordering passengers to get off and then torching the vehicle.
The driver and one passenger were hurt, officials said.
In Rouen, in the north, rioters pushed a burning car against a police building. No-one was hurt, police said. Cars were also burnt in the cities of Nantes, Rennes and Orleans, media said.
Chirac's government is struggling to cope with an explosion of unrest with complex social, economic and racial causes.
Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin said the government would step up security wherever necessary. Some 2,300 extra officers have already been drafted in.
"We cannot accept any 'no-go' areas," Villepin said after meeting Chirac, adding he would announce his plans for the country's underprivileged suburbs on national television on Monday.
Rioting began 10 days ago with the accidental electrocution of two youths apparently fleeing police. Their deaths ignited frustration among ethnic minorities over racism, unemployment, police treatment and their marginal place in French society.
"This is too much, stop!" sobbed a woman in Evreux, a normally quiet town in rural Normandy where a shopping mall, 50 vehicles, a post office and two schools were destroyed.
"FRANCE IS NOT BURNING"
Across France, 1,300 vehicles went up in flames overnight. For the first time, more than 30 were destroyed inside the city walls of Paris. Previously quiet towns such as Dreux, to the west, and the city of Nantes were also affected.
Police said 349 people had been arrested, including six youths caught stockpiling 90 Molotov cocktails in a disused police building south of Paris.
Despite the worst destruction since the riots started, a police spokesman called for a sense of proportion: "It's 211 districts out of 36,000, so France is not burning."
Authorities say drug traffickers and Islamist militants are helping to organise the unrest, via the Internet and mobile phones, among the North and sub-Saharan African immigrant communities who make up a significant part of many suburban housing estates.
The violence has tarnished France's image abroad, forcing Villepin to cancel a trip to Canada, while Russia and the United States have warned their citizens to avoid troubled suburbs.
Neighbouring Germany, too, has a large immigrant population, including over 3 million Muslims -- most of Turkish origin.
Wolfgang Bosbach, deputy leader of the conservative Christian Democrats in parliament, said Germany should be under no illusion that similar events could happen there too.
In Italy, opposition leader Romano Prodi called on the government to take urgent action, telling reporters:
"We have the worst suburbs in Europe. I don't think things are so different from Paris. It's only a question of time."
Jean-Marie Huet, a senior Justice Ministry official, said 160 people had been brought before the courts since the unrest started. Around 20 had been jailed, 30 others released on bail, and 50 minors had been brought before juvenile courts.
French Socialist Party leader Francois Hollande said the riots were a failure of government policy and leadership. Communist and Green Party officials demanded Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, who wants to run for president in 2007, resign over remarks opponents say stoked the violence.
(Additional reporting by Brian Rohan, Astrid Wendlandt, Kerstin Gehmlich and Jon Boyle in Paris, Paul Carrel in Evreux)
Are the Brits worried about their Muslims trying this?
if chirac has guts he would send in the tanks to restore order.
oh wait:France has never won a war for the last 100 years.
FNC showing a map of where fires are burning - all over the country it would seem.
He done real good in jernalizm skool.
That`s why Hitler lost the war... He made the grave mistake of thinking every country would be as easy to take over as France. He didn`t realize is that every country doesn`t use utter and complete unconditional surrender as an offensive tactic.
I'd like to repeat what I said on another thread:
The greatest danger here is that terrorist operatives world-wide see in this situation the possibility to FINALLY OPEN A WESTERN FRONT IN THE WAR.
More:
OBL is said to have thought the U.S. was a "paper tiger" because of how Clintoon cut and ran in Somalia.
Imagine the lessons the al-Q bigs have observed over the years since the war began.
They know France ACTIVELY attempted to undermine the U.S.'s efforts to defend itself by taking it to the enemy on their land.
They know Chiraq kissed Saddam's butt---and not because he liked him, but because he feared Saddam's POWER and lusted after his wealth.
They know Spain immediately caved after their trains were bombed.
While they've still attempted to get something going in England, they know: (1) Tony Blair has a nasty side and (2) British law enforcement is breathing down their necks and (3) the Americans are the Brits' "special friends" and well . . . we all know what that means.
Look at the riots in France from a tactical and strategic perspective:
It's apparent they have fertile ground in which to sow their seeds of hate.
Europe has open borders.
France is already practically a Muslim country---this must make the tipping point seem downright realistic compared to re-inventing, oh, The United States of America from the ground up.
The French government has no stomach for just conflict, the French people are (as far as I know) largely unarmed and unwilling to fight for their country anyway.
Bleak.
chirac, by definition, is taller than napolean.
chirac, by definition, smells slightly better than arafat, but then arafat has been moulding in the grave for some time.
chirac, by definition, has the balls of a sand flea.
"You must remember, mon ami, we will never fight when surrender, how you say, can be so much more rewarding" direct quote from chirac's father, grandfather and great-grandfather and accepted as gospel by the latest teeney weeney chirac.
France has military conscription & approximately 15% of it's armed forces are from north Africa/muslim decent
There has been for a number of years unease in the higher command levels of the French armed forces regarding the loyalty of these service members & whether it is wise to trust them anywhere near Frances nuclear arsenal.
Sending in the army might not be something the Chirac govt. believes it can do.
Let's hope it is "BANG!"
Snipers scare the hell out of trained military personnel. Snipers would easily disperse an untrained mob. If you are in a mob and several people drop dead around you and others drop dead as you are fleeing you will not riot you will not burn cars. Your gut will be knotted up and the adrenaline will be pumping. You will run as if your life depended on it, because it would. Careful selection of the target is also important. Shoot the ring leaders first then pick off the mob. If possible a head has a devastating psychological effect on the others. At distances of 200 to 300 yards this would not be difficult at all with the right rifle.
The French have the rifles, I do not know if they have the will.
"Another link between the dope pipeline and terrorism. Libertarians suddenly look at their shoes and pretend not to notice."
And if there was global terrorism in the 30s, it would have been tied to alcohol too. SO what? All you do is prove that prohibition empowers gangsters and murderers because it creates greater wealth than it would on the market.
Of course, that has nothing to do with this topic, but I won't let your idiocy go unchallenged.
"If you do not leave, I will shall be forced to taunt you again!"
Ivan, have you guys sealed the tunnel yet? I think it is time to become an island again.
No, it's not difficult to feel for the "citizens" even tho they elected the poseurs leading France. I really do feel sorry enough for them to ask the Brits to come to their rescue again--Tony might consider reactivating the Geste brothers, Sydney Carton, Henry V, and the Scarlet Pimpernel.
These 2 most important (and used) items in the French armament.
So, what was all that orange stuff the firemen, I mean firepersons, where squirting water on?
Perhaps, when he's done explaining to President Bush how best to get along with militant Islam, Prince Charles can trot over to Paris and brief Chirac on the finer points of his plan.
should read as "head shot"
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