Publish to Newswire
Add an EventFrom the Open-Publishing Calendar
From the Open-Publishing Newswire
Indybay Feature
Paris hit by anti-police riots
Two boys died on the evening of October 27 while fleeing from the police on a suburban council estate that houses poor and immigrant workers. The deaths of the boys, in Clichy-sous-Bois in Paris’ northern suburbs, sparked violent confrontations between mainly immigrant youth and 400 to 500 riot police dispatched by Minister of the Interior Nicolas Sarkozy.
Running battles between the youth and the police continued through the weekend. Some 70 cars and many rubbish bins were incinerated. The police fired around 150 rubber and plastic bullets and an unspecified number of tear gas canisters, and have continued to maintain a heavy presence.
Sarkozy, the chairman of the ruling Gaullist party and leading contender for the candidacy of his party in the 2007 presidential elections, has been building his reputation on an aggressive law-and-order platform. He immediately pledged to beef up the armoury of officers’ “non-lethal” weapons. He also announced that seventeen companies of riot police and seven mobile police brigades would be permanently stationed on “difficult” housing estates, and that plainclothes officers would be sent in to identify “gang leaders, drug dealers and ringleaders.”
The events of Thursday evening on the Chêne-Pointu estate demonstrate the intense fear and hostility to the police and representatives of the state felt by the inhabitants of France’s suburban council estates. These are usually relegated to the periphery of towns and cities.
They contrast with the often impeccably maintained town centres and are largely made up of high-rise tower blocks that are lacking in amenities, especially for the youth. The unemployment rate on such estates is often more than five times the national average of ten percent. Paris is ringed by such neighbourhoods, run for the most part by Socialist Party and Communist Party town halls and local councils.
At about 5.30 p.m. last Thursday, Bouna, 15, Zyed, 17, and Metin, 21, climbed over the three-metre-high, barbed-wire topped wall of an electricity plant. Bouna and Zayed were burnt to death and Metin is in hospital being treated for severe burns.
A youth told the press: “They were coming back from a football match. They had decided to kick a ball around... ” There are slightly different versions, but it is clear that the police arrived and the boys ran away from them.
The state prosecutor for Bobigny told the press: “It’s all the more tragic for the fact that they were not delinquents and they had done nothing wrong.” This was a refutation of the initial statements of Sarkozy and Prime Minister Dominique deVillepin that the boys had been involved in theft and vandalism.
The lawyer representing the victims’ parents, Jean-Pierre Mignard, asked an essential question: “Why did young people, who were doing no wrong, feel so threatened that they made their way into such a dangerous place?”
The newspaper Le Figaro of October 29 reported: “Many of them (the inhabitants of the commune), shocked by the events, yesterday spoke out angrily against police behaviour. ‘The cops harass us and play at being cowboys, but they are never there when we need them,’ said one.”
Read More
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2005/nov2005/pari-n02.shtml
Sarkozy, the chairman of the ruling Gaullist party and leading contender for the candidacy of his party in the 2007 presidential elections, has been building his reputation on an aggressive law-and-order platform. He immediately pledged to beef up the armoury of officers’ “non-lethal” weapons. He also announced that seventeen companies of riot police and seven mobile police brigades would be permanently stationed on “difficult” housing estates, and that plainclothes officers would be sent in to identify “gang leaders, drug dealers and ringleaders.”
The events of Thursday evening on the Chêne-Pointu estate demonstrate the intense fear and hostility to the police and representatives of the state felt by the inhabitants of France’s suburban council estates. These are usually relegated to the periphery of towns and cities.
They contrast with the often impeccably maintained town centres and are largely made up of high-rise tower blocks that are lacking in amenities, especially for the youth. The unemployment rate on such estates is often more than five times the national average of ten percent. Paris is ringed by such neighbourhoods, run for the most part by Socialist Party and Communist Party town halls and local councils.
At about 5.30 p.m. last Thursday, Bouna, 15, Zyed, 17, and Metin, 21, climbed over the three-metre-high, barbed-wire topped wall of an electricity plant. Bouna and Zayed were burnt to death and Metin is in hospital being treated for severe burns.
A youth told the press: “They were coming back from a football match. They had decided to kick a ball around... ” There are slightly different versions, but it is clear that the police arrived and the boys ran away from them.
The state prosecutor for Bobigny told the press: “It’s all the more tragic for the fact that they were not delinquents and they had done nothing wrong.” This was a refutation of the initial statements of Sarkozy and Prime Minister Dominique deVillepin that the boys had been involved in theft and vandalism.
The lawyer representing the victims’ parents, Jean-Pierre Mignard, asked an essential question: “Why did young people, who were doing no wrong, feel so threatened that they made their way into such a dangerous place?”
The newspaper Le Figaro of October 29 reported: “Many of them (the inhabitants of the commune), shocked by the events, yesterday spoke out angrily against police behaviour. ‘The cops harass us and play at being cowboys, but they are never there when we need them,’ said one.”
Read More
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2005/nov2005/pari-n02.shtml
Add Your Comments
Comments
(Hide Comments)
President Jacques Chirac urged calm and dialogue on Wednesday after a sixth night of unrest in poor Paris suburbs that has triggered a damaging public row between ministers in France's conservative government.
Street fighting, sparked by the deaths of two teenagers electrocuted while apparently fleeing police during a local disturbance, spread to other parts of the poor suburbs ringing the capital to the north and the east, police said.
The unrest has highlighted increasingly bitter rivalry between Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin and his deputy Nicolas Sarkozy, the interior minister, ahead of 2007 presidential elections.
"The law must be firmly applied and in a spirit of dialogue and respect," government spokesman Jean-Francois Cope quoted Chirac as telling the weekly cabinet meeting.
"The absence of dialogue and escalation of disrespect would lead to a dangerous situation. There cannot be 'no-go' areas in the republic," Cope told reporters.
Villepin later summoned eight ministers to a special meeting on problem neighbourhoods in an effort to rein in squabbling ministers and deflect opposition charges of drift.
A heavy police presence kept a tense order in Clichy-sous-Bois as disturbances broke out in previously quiet areas. A total of 34 people were detained by police overnight, Sarkozy told Europe 1 radio.
Villepin met families of the two dead youths on Tuesday evening along with Sarkozy who is now under heavy fire for his tough line against the rioters.
CABINET SQUABBLING
Squabbling broke out within Villepin's government when Equal Opportunities Minister Azouz Begag openly criticised Sarkozy for calling the protesting youths "scum".
"I talk with real words," Sarkozy fired back in an interview in the daily Le Parisien. "When someone shoots at policemen, he's not just a 'youth', he's a lout, full stop."
He acknowledged on Europe 1 that Begag had not made his job any easier, while the equal opportunities minister complained in a regional newspaper that Sarkozy never consulted him.
Villepin delayed for several hours his planned departure for a visit to Canada on Wednesday to deal with the issue and Sarkozy cancelled a planned visit to Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The unrest in the northern and eastern suburbs, heavily populated by North African and black African minorities, was fuelled by youths' frustration at their failure to get jobs and recognition in French society.
More
Street fighting, sparked by the deaths of two teenagers electrocuted while apparently fleeing police during a local disturbance, spread to other parts of the poor suburbs ringing the capital to the north and the east, police said.
The unrest has highlighted increasingly bitter rivalry between Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin and his deputy Nicolas Sarkozy, the interior minister, ahead of 2007 presidential elections.
"The law must be firmly applied and in a spirit of dialogue and respect," government spokesman Jean-Francois Cope quoted Chirac as telling the weekly cabinet meeting.
"The absence of dialogue and escalation of disrespect would lead to a dangerous situation. There cannot be 'no-go' areas in the republic," Cope told reporters.
Villepin later summoned eight ministers to a special meeting on problem neighbourhoods in an effort to rein in squabbling ministers and deflect opposition charges of drift.
A heavy police presence kept a tense order in Clichy-sous-Bois as disturbances broke out in previously quiet areas. A total of 34 people were detained by police overnight, Sarkozy told Europe 1 radio.
Villepin met families of the two dead youths on Tuesday evening along with Sarkozy who is now under heavy fire for his tough line against the rioters.
CABINET SQUABBLING
Squabbling broke out within Villepin's government when Equal Opportunities Minister Azouz Begag openly criticised Sarkozy for calling the protesting youths "scum".
"I talk with real words," Sarkozy fired back in an interview in the daily Le Parisien. "When someone shoots at policemen, he's not just a 'youth', he's a lout, full stop."
He acknowledged on Europe 1 that Begag had not made his job any easier, while the equal opportunities minister complained in a regional newspaper that Sarkozy never consulted him.
Villepin delayed for several hours his planned departure for a visit to Canada on Wednesday to deal with the issue and Sarkozy cancelled a planned visit to Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The unrest in the northern and eastern suburbs, heavily populated by North African and black African minorities, was fuelled by youths' frustration at their failure to get jobs and recognition in French society.
More
For more information:
http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticl...
Violence has flared for a seventh night in immigrant communities to the north-east of Paris.
Youths in several areas have been roaming the streets with sticks, as buildings have been vandalised and dozens of vehicles set alight.
The unrest came after ministers held crisis talks on the situation and the president appealed for calm.
Violence broke out following the death of two teenagers. Locals say they were fleeing police, which authorities deny.
On Wednesday night police clashed with youths in nine areas of the Seine-Saint-Denis department - where the violence began last week.
A police station was briefly besieged in Aulnay-sous-Bois, and a total of about 40 cars were burnt.
Two primary schools, a post office and a shopping centre were damaged and a large car showroom set ablaze in the impoverished neighbourhoods.
The situation also remained tense in the original flashpoint of Clichy-sous-Bois, the BBC's Alasdair Sandford reports from the town.
Our correspondent saw a gang suddenly turn on police vans - hurling stones and petrol bombs.
Political 'rebuke'
The prime minister and interior minister have delayed trips abroad to try to calm the unrest.
On Wednesday Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin summoned ministers to a meeting, from which no details have emerged.
However, he told parliament a disruptive minority should not be confused with the majority of youngsters, who want to integrate.
"Let's avoid stigmatising areas," he said.
Correspondents say Mr de Villepin's comments were a rebuke to his political rival, Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, who has called the rioters "scum".
Mr Chirac warned earlier of a "dangerous situation".
"The law must be applied in a spirit of dialogue and respect," he said.
Social problems
Dozens of vehicles have been torched and more than 30 arrests have been made since the violence began last week.
Unrest flared in Clichy-sous-Bois after two teenage boys of North African origin were electrocuted on Thursday at an electricity sub-station.
Local people insist they were fleeing from police and scrambled in to hide. Police say they were not chasing the boys.
An official investigation is under way.
Clichy saw five successive nights of confrontation between police and young people from the mainly north African Muslim communities in the north-eastern suburb.
Correspondents say anger grew after a tear gas canister was hurled into a mosque in Clichy on Sunday night. Emotions have also been fuelled by mass arrests.
Unemployment and social problems are rife in many of France's poorer suburban areas.
In recent days there have also been incidents involving groups of youths in other departments near Paris - including the Val-d'Oise, Seine-et-Marne, Hauts-de-Seine and Yvelines.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4401670.stm
Youths in several areas have been roaming the streets with sticks, as buildings have been vandalised and dozens of vehicles set alight.
The unrest came after ministers held crisis talks on the situation and the president appealed for calm.
Violence broke out following the death of two teenagers. Locals say they were fleeing police, which authorities deny.
On Wednesday night police clashed with youths in nine areas of the Seine-Saint-Denis department - where the violence began last week.
A police station was briefly besieged in Aulnay-sous-Bois, and a total of about 40 cars were burnt.
Two primary schools, a post office and a shopping centre were damaged and a large car showroom set ablaze in the impoverished neighbourhoods.
The situation also remained tense in the original flashpoint of Clichy-sous-Bois, the BBC's Alasdair Sandford reports from the town.
Our correspondent saw a gang suddenly turn on police vans - hurling stones and petrol bombs.
Political 'rebuke'
The prime minister and interior minister have delayed trips abroad to try to calm the unrest.
On Wednesday Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin summoned ministers to a meeting, from which no details have emerged.
However, he told parliament a disruptive minority should not be confused with the majority of youngsters, who want to integrate.
"Let's avoid stigmatising areas," he said.
Correspondents say Mr de Villepin's comments were a rebuke to his political rival, Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, who has called the rioters "scum".
Mr Chirac warned earlier of a "dangerous situation".
"The law must be applied in a spirit of dialogue and respect," he said.
Social problems
Dozens of vehicles have been torched and more than 30 arrests have been made since the violence began last week.
Unrest flared in Clichy-sous-Bois after two teenage boys of North African origin were electrocuted on Thursday at an electricity sub-station.
Local people insist they were fleeing from police and scrambled in to hide. Police say they were not chasing the boys.
An official investigation is under way.
Clichy saw five successive nights of confrontation between police and young people from the mainly north African Muslim communities in the north-eastern suburb.
Correspondents say anger grew after a tear gas canister was hurled into a mosque in Clichy on Sunday night. Emotions have also been fuelled by mass arrests.
Unemployment and social problems are rife in many of France's poorer suburban areas.
In recent days there have also been incidents involving groups of youths in other departments near Paris - including the Val-d'Oise, Seine-et-Marne, Hauts-de-Seine and Yvelines.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4401670.stm
By Hadi Yahmid, IOL Correspondent
PARIS, November2 , 2005 (IslamOnline.net) – Ongoing clashes between French security forces and residents of the poor Paris suburbs have overshadowed celebrations of the French Muslim minority of `Eid Al-Fitr, slated to be observed Thursday, November3 .
Clashes erupted for a sixth night running in suburbs northeast of the French capital Tuesday, with French security forces firing rubber bullets and tear gas bombs, one of which hit a mosque in the area.
The clashes in the eastern suburbs, heavily populated by Muslims of north African origin, was sparked when two teenagers were electrocuted last week in the Clichy-sous-Bois while apparently fleeing the police.
The clashes raged further when French forces fired a tear gas canister at a mosque in the area Sunday while Muslim worshipers were performing the Tarawih prayers, causing the fighting to spread out to other neighborhoods of the poor suburbs.
The suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois and neighboring areas in the capital suffer from unemployment rates twice over the national average, which is already relatively high at around 10 percent.
Condemnation
French Muslims strongly denounced the French police firing tear gas at a mosque in the area, the act that torpedoed efforts to bring calm back to the area.
"The French Council of Imams condemns such a racist and dangerous act," the council's Secretary General Daw Meskine told IslamOnline.net Wednesday, November2 .
"Such a police practice has torpedoed the council's efforts to convince Muslim residents to be clam and avoid clashes with the French police and has turned the whole area into a 'ticking bomb'," he added.
The Union of Islamic Organizations in France (UOIF) blamed French police officers for the unrest in the area for their "racist" practices against the residents and the Muslim worship places.
Thami Breze, the UOIF chairman, called for an inquiry into the act and punishing those responsible.
"It would have been dealt as a national 'scandal' if the police fired at a Jewish synagogue," he told IOL.
During a visit to the area Tuesday, angry residents threw stones at the car of Dalil Boubakeur, leader of the French Council of Muslim Faith (CFCM), for what they consider the council's negative stance in dealing with the ongoing clashes in the area, according to IOL Correspondent.
There are some5 - 6million Muslims living in France, mostly from north African countries and Turkey.
Under Fire
In a related matter, Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy has come under fire for his "zero-tolerance" policy, which caused violence in the areas.
Equal Opportunities Minister Azouz Begag openly criticized Sarkozy for calling the protesting youths "scum".
But Sarkozy fired back in an interview in the daily Le Parisien. "When someone shoots at policemen, he's not just a 'youth', he's a lout, full stop."
The opposition Socialists have also denounced Sarkozy's policies.
"Perhaps it is up to the prime minister to step in, to put slightly to one side this excited interior minister," Socialist Party National Secretary Malek Boutih told i-television.
On Tuesday evening, French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin urged a return to calm following a meeting with families of the two slain teenagers.
Villepin delayed for several hours his planned departure for a visit to Canada on Wednesday, officials said, and French media reported President Jacques Chirac was expected to make a statement about the unrest at a cabinet meeting Wednesday.
Sarkozy promised Monday to put more police on the streets as part of his "zero tolerance" policy towards violence.
Villepin and Sarkozy are locked in an increasingly tense battle to lead the right in the 2007 presidential election.
http://islamonline.net/English/News/2005-11/02/article05.shtml
with photos and details after 7 days of rioting
For more information:
http://www.indybay.org/news/2005/11/178063...
Why are people getting censored? Censorship is the tactic of fascist governments, and should not be tolerated. What did he say that he got censored? Is it considered "trolling" that someone has expressed their opinion? Remember the First Amendment, people! (I am not surprised if you censor this post).
The French government has neglected the minority communites, and so are reaping what they have sown. The Chirac presidency has failed the poor, immigrants that have come into their country.
While the government has failed them, resorting to violence is not an option.The french authorites will use this violence as an excuse to use violence of their own. The protestors need to use non-violence in their protest, for otherwise they they are allowing the french authorites to use their violence.Violence only begets violence. Remember Ghandi.
The French government has neglected the minority communites, and so are reaping what they have sown. The Chirac presidency has failed the poor, immigrants that have come into their country.
While the government has failed them, resorting to violence is not an option.The french authorites will use this violence as an excuse to use violence of their own. The protestors need to use non-violence in their protest, for otherwise they they are allowing the french authorites to use their violence.Violence only begets violence. Remember Ghandi.
You can look at the hidden comments at:
http://www.indybay.org/news/hidden.php?id=1780074
Things were hidden since it was turning into another debate about ZIonism rather than anything related to the article. Moderation can allow for more free discussion in case where certain peopel trun every topic into the same discussion since peopel who want to talk about other sisues are silences by having to sift through all the flamewars.
http://www.indybay.org/news/hidden.php?id=1780074
Things were hidden since it was turning into another debate about ZIonism rather than anything related to the article. Moderation can allow for more free discussion in case where certain peopel trun every topic into the same discussion since peopel who want to talk about other sisues are silences by having to sift through all the flamewars.
We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts!
Donate
$75.00 donated
in the past month
Get Involved
If you'd like to help with maintaining or developing the website, contact us.
Publish
Publish your stories and upcoming events on Indybay.
Topics
More
Search Indybay's Archives
Advanced Search
►
▼
IMC Network