French violence hits fresh peak

[frigidmagi]

BBC

At least 1,400 vehicles have been burnt out and 395 people arrested in France's latest rioting, while the unrest has apparently claimed its first fatality.
Jean-Jacques Le Chenadec, 61, who fell into a coma after being beaten by a hooded man last week, has died.

In Sunday night's violence - the worst so far - 36 policemen were injured, including two who were shot in Paris.

The mayor of Paris suburb Raincy has declared a curfew for Monday night, France's first in 11 days of unrest.

President Jacques Chirac has said restoring order is his top priority, and Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin is due to announce his plan to stop the unrest later on Monday.


Map of main flashpoints
Muslim leaders of African and Arab communities have also issued a fatwa, or religious order, against the riots.

"It is strictly forbidden for any Muslim... to take part in any action that strikes blindly at private or public property or that could threaten the lives of others," the fatwa by the Union of Islamic Organisations in France said.

French riots in pictures
Timeline: French riots
Unrest has gripped areas with large African and Arab communities since the deaths in the run-down Paris suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois of two youths, who were accidentally electrocuted at an electricity sub-station. Locals said they were being chased by the police, but the police deny this.

Mr Sarkozy's oft-cited description of urban vandals as "rabble" a few days before the riots began is said by many to have fuelled tensions.

Reports of a police tear gas grenade hitting a mosque during the riots further inflamed feelings.

Despite the controversy over Mr Sarkozy's remarks, a CSA opinion poll published in Le Parisien at the weekend suggested he had a nationwide approval rating of 57%.

Police under attack

The two police officers shot on Sunday night were hit during what police described as an "ambush" in the Paris suburb of Grigny.

They were taken to hospital with wounds to the leg and throat.

Police chiefs said their men were being deliberately confronted by gangs apparently intent on fighting them.

FRENCH RIOTS
One man killed
4,700 cars torched
1,200 people arrested
17 people sentenced
108 police and firefighters injured
Figures as of 7 November

Local police commander Bernard Franio said: "This is real, serious violence - not like the previous nights. I'm very worried because this is mounting."

The trade union Action Police CFTC called for night-time curfews and army help to stop the spreading "civil war".

In the southern city of Toulouse, police fired tear gas grenades to push back rioters.

Violence was also reported in Marseille, Saint-Etienne and Lille.

Of the 1,408 vehicles burnt, 982 were attacked outside the Paris region as the "shock wave" from the capital reached the provinces, in the words of national police chief Michel Gaudin.

France has been set ablaze by the embers of a racial resentment that the Villepin government has been incapable of extinguishing

Spanish daily ABC

Some countries, including the UK, urged their citizens to use "extreme care" if travelling in the affected areas.

There were also reports of cars being torched overnight in Brussels and Berlin, but there was no confirmation of a link with the French unrest.
"The law must have the last word," Mr Chirac told reporters on Sunday.

He promised arrest, trials and punishment for perpetrators but added that "respect for all, justice and equal opportunity" were needed to end the unrest.

Mr Chirac had faced criticism from opposition politicians for not speaking publicly about the unrest since it began on 27 October.

A curfew should have slapped up after the fucking 1st night you morons! Has for the burnings in Berlin and Brussels I think it's linked, has in copy catism if nothing else. [/quote]