Residents of French Suburbs to Demonstrate

bentoncourier ^ | November 11, 2005 | JAMEY KEATEN

[ncountylee]

PARIS - Police tightened security in central Paris as exasperated residents of riot-torn suburbs prepared to march Friday near the Eiffel Tower to call for an end to more than two weeks of car burnings and vandalism across France.

As the unrest continued to decline, civic groups timed their protest to coincide with the Armistice Day holiday _ marking the end of World War I _ hours after the annual military parade for the commemoration.

Police blocked off large swaths of central Paris, with trucks of riot police deployed along the Champs-Elysees and near the presidential palace. Some 715 officers were brought in from other districts, raising the full deployment to 2,220.

"Today, we don't want an armistice _ we want peace," national police chief Michel Gaudin told reporters. "An armistice is a temporary halt. What we want is definitive peace for the suburbs."

The unrest has declined under state-of-emergency measures enacted Wednesday and a heavy police presence. The 15th consecutive night of violence saw fewer skirmishes and fewer cars burned _ 463, down from 482 the previous night, police said.

"We have seen a continued drop beyond Paris, but persistence near the capital," said national police spokesman Patrick Hamon. "We cannot yet claim victory, the drop remains fragile."

President Jacques Chirac acknowledged Thursday that France must confront the social inequalities and discrimination that has fueled the violence _ France's worst since the 1968 student-worker uprising.

[chris1]

What a joke. They need HK's and stun grenades, not Kuumbbaayyaa.

This turn the other cheek attitude has gone too far with these beasts. Its time to steamroll them back to the middle east.

The ROP should be allowed by the authorities to RIP instead.

[fortunecookie]

Excellent.

[Petronski]

They need HK's and stun grenades, not Kuumbbaayyaa.

And snipers, Chris. Don't forget plenty of skilled snipers.