Sarkozy holding Menorah.
Posted on 11/16/2005 6:45:13 AM PST by veronica
PARIS, Nov 16 (Reuters) - French Interior Minister and presidential hopeful Nicolas Sarkozy received a boost on Wednesday from an opinion poll showing strong approval for his handling of almost three weeks of urban unrest, now on the wane.
The survey put Sarkozy ahead of Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, likely to be his main rival for the presidency in 2007, and showed both had come through France's worst civil unrest in almost 40 years much better than expected.
Youngsters angered by a lack of jobs and opportunities in poor suburbs protested for the 20th successive night, but police said the number of vehicles set on fire fell to a low of 163.
Violence reached a peak of 1,400 vehicles torched on the night of Nov. 6 but subsided under emergency measures adopted by the government including curfews. A law extending the measures was due to complete its passage through parliament on Wednesday.
The IPSOS survey conducted on Nov. 12 showed Sarkozy's approval rating among voters was 11 percentage points higher than in October, in spite of strong criticism of his tough language at the start of the crisis,
More than two-thirds of respondents approved of Sarkozy's actions during the unrest, although he was criticised by the opposition Socialists for referring to the rioters as rabble.
"It is clear that Sarkozy's strong message on security goes down well with the French people," political analyst Dominique Moisi said.
IPSOS director Pierre Giacometti said Sarkozy had a high level of support among far-right voters, suggesting his campaign strategy of taking votes from extreme-right leader Jean-Marie Lepen is starting to pay off.
Support for him also rose among Socialist voters, even though the party's leadership has demanded his dismissal.
Far from acting as a brake, the urban riots could spur Sarkozy's campaign for a radical break with past government policies which form the bedrock of his presidential campaign.
The poll of 958 people showed 68 percent of respondents approved of Sarkozy's actions since the urban unrest began, compared to 62 percent for Villepin. Sixty-four percent said they were confident Sarkozy could find lasting solutions to the problems in the suburbs, compared to 58 percent for Villepin.
ACCIDENTAL DEATHS
The poll is unlikely to be well received by youngsters in the suburbs who say harsh police treatment is one of the causes of the violence, which began after the accidental deaths of two youths electrocuted as they apparently fled police.
"Sarkozy has got to resign," said 18-year-old Bakary Toure, in the La Courneuve neighbourhood outside Paris.
President Jacques Chirac, whose poll ratings were far behind his two ministers, said this week that France faced a deep national malaise and identity crisis. The unrest has also highlighted the failure of France's integration policies.
The violence has mainly been led by ethnic African and North African youths, although some white youths have been involved, and some senior centre-right politicians say polygamy may have been a factor behind the unrest.
"There is clearly a problem with the integration of immigrants and, more importantly, their children," Bernard Accoyer, leader of the Union for a Popular Majority (UMP) in the lower house of parliament, told RTL radio.
"In order for us to be able to integrate them, there must not be more of them than our capacity to integrate them. That's the issue. It's like polygamy...It's certainly one of the causes (of the riots), though not the only one."
Muslim community leaders were not immediately available for comment on the politicians' remarks.
The lower house on Tuesday approved the government's draft law extending the emergency powers for three months and the Senate was expected to do the same on Wednesday.
The special measures went into force on Nov. 9 for 12 days but have been used only sparingly.
Reuters: "... urban unrest, now on the wane."
The first word makes everything that follows it suspect,
particulary the "on the wane" part.
The Vichy Government in France is incapable of handling
the actual problem, but they are investing significant
effort in suppressing reporting, and Reuters is the
steady pal of bumbling socialists everwhere.
Youngsters???????????????????????????????????????
Right, they polled 958 automobile dealership owners.
What I see is the tacit approval of much of the community plus helpless mothers in those polygamous marriages.
And, since they are being supported by welfare, no need for these hooligans to get out and work.
I understand the uemployment, but it's no higher than during the American depression. Don't remember reading about rioting back then, though.
"Much needed bump to the right" PING.
Hope the trend picks up more pace.
"The French are often given too hard a time by Freepers ..."
You are right and I'm typically one of them. To be fair, I must say I'm surprised the rioting didn't get MUCH worse given the weak-wristed response from Chirac. Sarkozy strikes me as a good choice for the next election in France.
This recent flair up will be seen as just a minor blip on the screen if France doesn't deal with the large Muslim population that is slowly taking over the country.
Good news! (and a bit surprising as well, since Chirac/Villepin did their best to undermine him in the early days of the riot.)
Ah, where have we heard that before?
Isn't Sarkozy pro-US? Or at least more so than the Chirac-led gov't.
I read somewhere that Sarkozy was once a Chirac minion, but seperated from the party.
Probably has something to do with the constant anti-American and anti-conservative spewage coming from the French leadership with no apparent dissent.
Just a thought
Protested??????????????????????????????????
Sarkozy for President!
That would interesting. A Jewish President of France. :)
Do you think he has a chance of being elected? I don't really follow French politics that closely anymore.
"...harsh police treatment is one of the causes of the violence."
IMHO, the treatment wasn't harsh enough.Harsh treatment would have resulted in the riots being over in 24 hours! But then, I don't see Martial Law being used in France!
Those wacky french "youngsters" are still blowing off steam.
That statement strikes terror into the hearts of Old Media types everywhere. It means that the propaganda they spew is not getting to its target.
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