This, Sir, did not come from a pellet gun.
Posted on 11/07/2005 4:38:50 AM PST by alnitak
A night of rioting in France has left 1,408 vehicles burnt out and resulted in 395 arrests - the highest tolls yet in 11 nights of unrest.
Ten policemen were injured by shots and stones when they confronted 200 rioters in the Paris suburb of Grigny, with two policemen seriously hurt.
President Jacques Chirac has said restoring order is his top priority.
French media report that a man in a coma after an attack on Friday could be the first fatality of the unrest.
Jean-Jacques Le Chenadec, 61, was reportedly struck by a hooded man in the street after he and a neighbour went to inspect damage to bins near their apartment block in the town of Stains, in the Seine-Saint-Denis region outside Paris.
His widow has been received by Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy.
Appeal to Muslims
Muslim leaders of African and Arab communities have also issued a fatwa, or religious order, against the riots.
Map of main flashpoints
"It is strictly forbidden for any Muslim... to take part in any action that strikes blindly at private or public property or that could threaten the lives of others," the fatwa by the Union of Islamic Organisations in France said.
French riots in pictures
Hundreds of cars were set on fire in different towns on Sunday night, and police had to use tear gas to disperse a club-wielding mob in Toulouse.
Unrest has gripped areas with large African and Arab communities since the deaths of two youths in the rundown Paris suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois, who were accidentally electrocuted at an electricity sub-station after reportedly fleeing police.
Mr Sarkozy's oft-cited description of urban vandals as "rabble" (racaille) a few days before the riots began is said by many to have fuelled tensions.
Reports of a police tear gas grenade hitting a mosque during the riots further inflamed feelings.
Despite the controversy over Mr Sarkozy's remarks, a CSA opinion poll published in Le Parisien at the weekend showed him with a nationwide approval rating of 57%.
Police under attack
The two police officers were injured by gunfire in what police described as an "ambush" in Grigny late on Sunday.
France has been set ablaze by the embers of a racial resentment that the Villepin government has been incapable of extinguishing
Spanish daily ABC
European press on riots Send us your views
They were taken to hospital with wounds to the leg and throat.
Police chiefs said their men were being deliberately confronted by gangs apparently intent on fighting them.
"They really shot at officers, said local police commander Bernard Franio.
"This is real, serious violence - not like the previous nights. I'm very worried because this is mounting."
In the southern city of Toulouse, police fired tear gas grenades to push back rioters and violent attacks were also reported in Marseille, Saint-Etienne and Lille.
Of the 1,408 vehicles burnt, 982 were attacked outside the Paris region as the "shock wave" from the Paris region reached the provinces, in the words of national police chief Michel Gaudin.
"The law must have the last word," Mr Chirac told reporters in his first public address on the violence on Sunday.
He promised arrest, trials and punishment for perpetrators but added that "respect for all, justice and equal opportunity," were needed to end the unrest.
Mr Chirac had faced criticism from opposition politicians for not speaking publicly about the unrest since it began on 27 October.
This, Sir, did not come from a pellet gun.
Why do they keep count of the cars burned and not the shops and homes?
Islam is the enemy and the war on terror ends with the death of the last moslem
Misdirection. Keeping us fixated on the trivial.
I'm not up on French politics... what are the roles of prime minister, interior minister and president?
Sometimes they say buckshot, sometimes they say birdshot. Big difference.
The human spirit craves a faith higher then themselves. If Christ is outlawed another religion WILL come in and take HIS place.
$$$$$$
Absolutely true. For some it is the religion of abortion, euphemistically known as "choice." For others, it is gang membership. For others, perhaps, a belief in witches...
We are fortunate that so many Americans still have a strong Christian faith, despite the war on Christianity by our public schools for the past 40 years.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/07/international/europe/07cnd-france.html?hp&ex=1131426000&en=165b4421caeda67a&ei=5094&partner=homepage
By CRAIG S. SMITH
Published: November 7, 2005
PARIS, Monday, Nov. 8
...he was beaten by a hooded youth...Jacques Chirac, who vowed to punish the rioters...rioters...the violence...stay away from areas of unrest...earlier reports of rioters firing weapons...anger among many immigrant families over joblessness and discrimination..."This is just the beginning," said Moussa Diallo, 22, a tall, unemployed French-African man...hundreds of youths were reported to have clashed...Rampaging youths have attacked the police...three firefighters were injured in clashes with young rioters...two running youths...the working-class suburbs, peopled primarily by North African and West African immigrants and their French-born children..."it's fun to set cars on fire," said Mohamed Hammouti, a 15-year-old boy...residents of some high-rise apartment blocks have been throwing steel boccie balls and improvised explosives at national riot police officers patrolling below....a firebomb factory - Six minors were arrested...arrested three youths who had called for rioting and attacks on the police on their Web sites...Though a majority of the youths committing the acts are Muslim, and of African or North African origin, the mayhem has yet to take on any ideological or religious overtones.
Then, if goes on about "young people, "youths, and mostly passive voice "bombs were thrown", "police were shot"
Maybe it's time the police started SHOOTING BACK!
Looks more like a full on insurrection than a mere 'riot'.
Ah, yes - but sadly, you will not see that comparison to a Normandy invasion in any contemporary schoolbook. Heaven forbid, to coin a phrase!
I guess a new phrase for our children would be those not taught history are doomed to repeat it.
"Maybe it's time the police started SHOOTING BACK!"
Right on. I had called for military intervention a week ago. But, it would have ended Chirac's career of course, to do it. What Chirac doesn't realize, it's not a question of how to keep his job, it's the manner in which he loses his job. If it were me, I'd lose my job in STYLE-- guns blazing.
LOL. Better hope Gunny Ermey doesn't see that!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.