Free Republic

French police turn on Chirac as officer jailed By Kim Willsher in Paris and Henry Samuel in Bobigny (Filed: 13/11/2005) After 16 nights battling urban violence by rioters, Jacques Chirac's government is confronting angry new protests - from the police themselves. Firefighters extinguish a burning car in Strasbourg Officers at the forefront of attempts to control the wave of riots and arson attacks across France are furious at moves to prosecute policemen accused of assaulting a youth. As officers were deployed in force in Paris yesterday following a call on weblogs for a mass demonstration, the police union described the...

SAW THIS ON SHEP SMITH LAST NIGHT: Maybe I'm the only one who thought this the moment this picture popped onto the screen, but I'm pretty sure I'm not... How much you wanna bet that France's new pride and joy... (THIS)  ...becomes the new "talk of the town" in the Al Jazeera "what should we blow up next" section of the classifieds? What is extremely interesting is that Chirac and all the French leadership are probably delusional enough after the 24 month scolding they have been giving the U.S. to think that they are completely immune to the terrorists that are...

A proud nation is coming to terms with the new reality, Matthew Campbell reports from ParisWhen President Jacques Chirac rolls out the red carpet at the Elysée Palace, it is only for visiting heads of state. Last week, however, he made a conspicuous exception. Jose Manuel Barroso, a former Portuguese prime minister who will become president of the European commission — but not until November — got the royal treatment when he came to see Chirac on Wednesday.Chirac, along with the palace guards in their full regalia, were there to meet him at the front door. The last time Chirac...