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)
We've elected fools to power as well, and their names begin with "C" also.
The scary thought is that if Kerry had been elected, this would be happening in America right now.
No, because our Army will actually shoot them.
Regards, Ivan
Let's see.
Socialist France (as well as the rest of Europe) decides that they want higher pay for less work and early retirement with all the benefits. In order to pay for it, the French allow open immigration from Northern Africa so that cheaper labor can produce French goods. So far, so good. But the French economy deteriorates and they begin outsourcing production. The French build housing projects on the outskirts of their cities to house the immigrants.
The house of cards collapses. They now have a huge, African (Muslim) population that is unemployed ... and no prospects for employment. Now, thanks to the liberal economy and laws, they are helpless to do anything about it.
Is Paris burning? Yes ... and its their own fault!
This is the cost of socialism and the rest of Europe is going to feel the same massive pain.
I'm ready to suggest we seal the tunnel. This is just getting out of hand.
Regards, Ivan
The media just infuriates me!
We warned them (France) that their Muslims were going to revolt. We're just iggorant Americans though, so we were discounted. I pray for the families of those being injured and killed. Chirac makes me sick.
Or incubating and happening very shortly. An excellent but frightening point. It seems every day we realize once again what bullets we dodged.
Sounds like a good plan.
Yes, and Tony Blair does have a spine, unlike his French counterpart.
Is that the French battle flag?
This is the cost of socialism and the rest of Europe is going to feel the same massive pain.You are right. There are 3 main threads to this story:
1. Appeasement of Islam doesn't work.
2. Socialism doesn't work.
3. The Leftist Media can't keep the scam a secret forever.
These three things are all so important --- and all so poorly understood here in the US, by at least 45% of the population --- that this blowup in France, a number-one Appeaser, a number-one Socialist State, a number-one home of Leftist Media --- is a very very good thing for America.
Of the 45% of America which does not see the truth, I think at least half of them are capable of seeing the truth.
This war in France will help wake them up. That, to me, is much more important than the actual outcome in France itself.
That's a valid worry, then. But what has the French government done to deal with it? [crickets chirping]
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."
lol........ I think it might be!
Henceforth known as the Eiffel Mosque.
This isn't directed specifically at you Will, it just seemed like a good place to tag on.
Re: doing nothing. Couldn't the same thing have been said about the riots we've had in the US? Los Angeles comes to mind. Looked to me that the cops just backed off and left innocents to their own defense.
What I'm unsure of is if this is different than the riots in the US. I don't trust the LSM to accurately report this and I can't get enough facts to determine is this is a Islam thing or an underachiever thing.
Perhaps it doesn't make any difference, if it's an underachiever thing Muslims will be quick to exploit it by organization and upping the ante.
But I still wonder and don't even have a clue as to how to find out....
France on Fire Ping
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