Very smart move by Sarkozy. Villepanties is trying to knock him out of the next election by blaming him for the riots.
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.
Well, that's the ticket. Should solve everything!
I'm at a total loss to understand the French government's response to this. No curfew. No police-on-every-corner. The only thing I see them doing is showing up after the fact to put out the fires. In an ironic twist of history, they've gone from "Let them eat cake" to "Let them wear themselves out". Whatta bunch of wusses.
The article actually used the word "muslims". A similar article in my local paper did not once refer to mulims.
Can someone in Paris please inform us what this phrase "hooded man" means in this context?
Do they really mean hooded or are they avoiding using the word masked?
Why should it???? They are getting away with plunder and pillage and France is doing nothing about it? Why screw up a good thing????
Dayum, pretty soon there won't be any cars left in france to burn. Anybody know the gand total since this intafada started?
An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile - hoping it will eat him last. Sir Winston Churchill - 1874 - 1965)
I heard this morning that he's considering actually doing something. I hope he doesn't act too rashly though.
It's pathetic-- I couldn't spot one decent weapon among the police.
Why don't the police just shoot the rioters? That would put an end to it fast.
I think it's time for the frogs to call in Mayor Nagin and Gov. Blanco to the rescue.
If I had a crap car that was insured for higher than I could sell it for I would make sure to park it in one of these neighborhoods.
Yes, I noted that line too. So, this would/could mean if a muslim youth ever had a run in with say this person or that...it's all justified.
This rioting isn't just over two kids who got killed. I don't really believe that that issue would have given the riots that much momentum to last so long. I think that this was long planned and the two kids buying it was just the excuse to start the jihad. And of course, the muslims know enough PC blather to know what the French Governmants reaction would be. All that whining about poverty and victimization. The rioters are playing the French all the while they are carrying on a was and the French don't get it cause they're too deluded. And I'm sure they're laughing at the inept French response the whole time. What contempt they must have for the western world.
I am not in Paris, but since the story was written by a Brit, "hooded" does mean hooded, not masked. A "hoody" is usually the type of sports jacket that comes with a built in hood (or the person who wears one). They have become fashionable among the underclass because they make identification very difficult, concealing the features. They are often very heavily hooded, like a parka hood.
"Mr Chirac said the state was determined "to be stronger than those who want to sow violence or fear"."
LoL. You go, Jacques! Ha ha ha.
Nice try. You can't fool me with those pictures.
The ones you posted are clearly from Africa. The press has reported "French youths" on a rampage. Are you trying to imply with your disinformation that "race" and "religion" have something to do with these riots? Or maybe, that France has a failed immigration policy?
I think I'll stick with ABC, CBS, and NBC for the real story.
Sarkozy is the only man who can save France.
Hence, Chirac and Villepin are more focused on destroying him than resisting the MooSlime terrrorists.
Expect a victory parade down the Champs-Elysees any day now and pictures of blubbering Frogs.
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