Striking French prison warders scuffle with riot police(rioting prison guards)

Riot police scuffled with guards outside two of France's main prisons today as warders stepped up a national "blockade" in protest against over-crowding and a shortage of staff in the nation's prisons.

Officers used tear gas and other crowd-control weapons against several dozen guards who used tyres and other obstacles to block the entrance to Fleury Mérongis, Europe's biggest prison, on the south-western edge of Paris.

At La Santé, the ancient prison in the heart of the Paris Left Bank, a squadron of CRS riot police shoved aside warders who were preventing the transport of prisoners for trial at the city's law-courts.

The actions were the most spectacular in a wave of disruption that began on Monday at 80 of France's 194 prisons. The guards say they lack the resources and staff to control a rising inmate population which has badly over-loaded a decrepit prison system.

France is regularly criticised by international organisations for running delapidated and over-crowded prisons. Some 63,000 prisoners are held in establishments built to accommodate some 52,000. Last year 115 prisoners committed suicide and union leaders say the figure so far this year is about 50. Several prison officers have also killed themselves.

(Boris Horvat) Policemen fire tear gas at prison guards blocking access to the prison in Fleury-Merogis, outside of Paris, on May 4, 2009

Smoke billows from burning tyres as French prison warders blocked the entrance of Lille-Sequedin prison facility since early morning on May 4, 2009.

French riot police remove prison warders who staged a sit-in and blocked the entrance of Lille-Sequedin jail since early morning on May 4, 2009.

French anti-riot police push back prison guards blocking the entrance of Paris' Prison de la Sante on May 5, 2009, on the second day of protests against jail overcrowding.

Striking French prison warders scuffle with riot police

Do people honestly not believe or understand that the demise of Western Civilization is well underway?

From what I have observed, Communism - and I'll bet that these unions are pretty far left - is an outlier of the trend and it has been openly ongoing for 6 decades now, complete with moral relativism.

Decadence: n - fallen from a higher plane or ideal

I’ve said it before: whilst appreciating Sarko’s attempts even before he became President of France, his attempts were not of any real consequence. Although, Sarko’s stance was vis a vis Chirac, and, he became the leader of France, given “Political times of” Chirac.

Even when Sarko tried to quench “Muslim” riots during Chirac’s presidency in France a few years ago - Sarko was Not really successful in quenching the Muslim riots. How many times do we have to say it isn’t, necessarily, about defense?

Did French colonial quest come about during Chirac? I think Not. It is at least a couple of centuries old; the French allowed these North African and Muslim middle eastern characters become part of “Colonial France”.

My suggestions, for the West to be proactive, are: Do not allow dual citizenship, particularly, regarding those from Muslim countries (children included, born in the West, naturalized, their parents, or otherwise). They would, then, have to make a Clear decision; either they want a Western citizenship (which should not allow them to enter a muslim country with their “other” passport, OR, keep their original Muslim country citizenship through heritage or birth, which should, legally, mean same mentioned people are Not Western citizens.)

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