Posted on 11/13/2005 8:35:36 AM PST by indcons
THE French have had enough of the riots that are sullying their international reputation as the land of civility, as well as liberty, equality and fraternity.
By the end of last week, there was a collective sense of relief as the nightly toll of burnt cars, and torched schools, nurseries, gyms, warehouses and small businesses rapidly diminished.
A few hundred - as opposed to well over a thousand - incinerated cars and a significant drop in violence in the troubled suburbs of Paris signalled for most French citizens a welcome break from the fortnight of violence that had threatened the whole concept of law and order in the republic.
With the imposition of an unprecedented state of emergency authorising local authorities to slap curfews on unruly young people, hopes grew that the untamed youth of the suburbs would quietly return to their housing estates.
Many commentators on French television and the major newspapers whined about the gross exaggerations of the riots in the foreign media.
"This is not Chechnya," one angry resident of Clichy-sous-Bois, the isolated Paris immigrant suburb where the rioting began two weeks ago, angrily told The Australian at a memorial rally for the town's gym, burned down the evening before by a gleeful mob of pyromaniacs.
But over the weekend the rioting did not abate. Indeed, for the first time since the violence exploded on October 27 after two teenage boys were electrocuted in Clichy-sous-Bois -- the pair took refuge in a power substation believing they were being chased by police -- the crisis spread to a major city centre.
Rioters struck at the heart of Lyon, considered France's second-most important town, at 5pm on Saturday. About 50 youths descended on Bellecour Square -- the Lyon landmark beloved by locals and tourists -- a few hours before the authorities were due to impose a curfew banning unaccompanied youngsters from the streets of the city after dark.
The brazen attack frightened shoppers and local business people, who quickly closed their enterprises before riot police restored a semblance of order. Two people were arrested and investigations are continuing.
A few dozen cars were torched in central Paris a week earlier, but the menacing presence of a large gang of rioters had not been experienced in a major French urban centre since the civil unrest broke out.
Paris had been on edge throughout the Armistice Day long weekend after reportedly credible threats to capital landmarks like the Champs Elysee, home to the Arc de Triomphe, and the Eiffel Tower were discovered on websites and through intercepted text messages.
The threats were not acted upon -- probably because of the overwhelming police presence in central Paris and a concerted public campaign by Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy. The tough-talking presidential aspirant promised to impose the full force of republican law on any young agitators who dared take out their rage on the symbols of French glory and in full view of the foreign tourists.
Despite the relative calm in Paris, unrest continued in the provinces. Toulouse -- a hotspot in the south of France -- again experienced a night of ritual car burnings.
In Carpentras, locals were still digesting the disturbing news that a local mosque had been attacked -- presumably by far-right militants capitalising on the incendiary social situation.
The French appear shocked that the eyes of the world are turned to their nation in crisis. They are a proud people who are more accustomed to being being admired for their country's world-class cuisine, intellectual heritage and enviable lifestyle.
The official spokesman of the centre-right Government, Jean-Francois Cope, has called a special meeting today with all international correspondents working in France.
He wants to counteract the alarming global dissemination of the view that France is in flames -- and therefore a dangerous tourist destination.
Or as Le Figaro newspaper reported: "Since the beginning of the crisis, European and foreign television networks and newspapers have had the tendency to present the country as if it is in a quasi state of war."
The problem with Cope's argument is that it is the French press, political elite and commentariat who have raised the spectre of "the germs of civil war". Or, as Ivan Riouful argued in Le Figaro on Friday, the rioters are committing acts of "urban terrorism".
The so-called Paris intifada is not an invention of a gloating foreign press corps, thrilled that France with its deep sense of cultural superiority is getting its comeuppance.
The images of the nightly violence speak for themselves -- and the weekend's attack in central Lyon shows the country's worst case of civil unrest since World War II, or at least May 1968, is not over yet.
Remember the French ridicule and French commentary on "American racism" after Katrina?
Put some iced mousse on it.
> By the end of last week, there was a collective sense
> of relief as the nightly toll ... rapidly diminished.
Is this even true?
This is the official French spin, after all.
LOL...so the French are content to have just a few hundred cars torched per night and fewer schools, nurseries and businesses burned to the ground.
With the imposition of an unprecedented state of emergency authorising local authorities to slap curfews on unruly young people, hopes grew that the untamed youth of the suburbs would quietly return to their housing estates.
Classic burying one's head in the sand there France! Just hope the problem goes away...do ya think it'll stay away?
Many commentators on French television and the major newspapers whined about the gross exaggerations of the riots in the foreign media.
What gross exaggerations...the French have been providing torched car counts, there are muslim youths rioting in numerous French cities...where's the false part of the picture?
"This is not Chechnya," one angry resident of Clichy-sous-Bois, the isolated Paris immigrant suburb where the rioting began two weeks ago, angrily told The Australian at a memorial rally for the town's gym, burned down the evening before by a gleeful mob of pyromaniacs.
Of course it's not Chechnya...err...there are Russians in Chechnya and French in Clichy-sous-Bois...otherwise there is little difference.
Well, it's difficult to imagine a more deserving country. OTOH, if it would serve to deflate their "frenchity" so that they become less full of it - why, then it would be highly beneficial.
bump
(They are a proud people who are more accustomed to being being admired for their country's world-class cuisine, intellectual heritage and enviable lifestyle.)
Does anyone here admire the French for their intellectual heritage (socialism, the guillotine, the terror of the French Revolution) or envy their lifestyle (laziness, 50% are government jobs, frequent strikes, 10K neglected elderly cooked during one hot summer)?
Perhaps they should not be so anxious to criticize others, then.
What goes around comes around.
Or ice a few mousse.
I LOVE your tagline!
Via Belmont Club:
French Journalist: "Politics in France is heading to the right and I don’t want rightwing politicians back in second, or even first place because we showed burning cars on television," Jean-Claude Dassier, the director general of the rolling news service TCI, says. ... Hence Dassier’s channel, which is owned by the private broadcaster TF1, has decided not to show footage of burning cars. Dassier also criticised the “excessive” coverage of the riots by international (read: Anglo-Saxon) news networks. ... Early this week the public television station France 3 had already stopped broadcasting the daily number of torched cars, while other TV stations followed suit. "Do we send teams of journalists because cars are burning, or are the cars burning because we sent teams of journalists?"
http://fallbackbelmont.blogspot.com/
I'll have whatever the French are smoking.
Ooh la la!!!
They WISH to be the object of such envy.
...Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy
WOW......the reaction from Mon. Jean-Claude Dassier is unbelievable. More appeasement from the socialist French public TV.
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.