French Deploy 1,000 Police Officers
In an effort to tamp down the rioting in the northern suburbs of Paris, the French are deploying 1,000 police to the strife torn areas. Unfortunately, it may be a case of too little too late as the violence appears to have spread to Toulouse in the southern part of the country.
French Prime Minister Francois Fillon visited the restive suburb of Villiers le Bel, where the death of two teenagers Sunday touched off two nights of violence that have left at least 120 police injured.
Nine people were detained in Villiers ahead of Fillon's visit, police told AFP.
Earlier, a court jailed eight youths over the clashes with police Sunday and Monday. Four were handed prison sentences ranging from three to 10 months, while four others were detained pending judgement.
There was also Tuesday signs that the violence had spread outside the Paris region when about a dozen cars were set on fire in the southern city of Toulouse.
For two nights running, young men have hurled petrol bombs and bricks at police, torching cars and buildings in Villiers le Bel, where two youths were killed in a motorbike collision with a police car.
Faced with the worst eruption of urban violence since the riots of 2005, Fillon vowed a beefed-up security presence Tuesday evening and to "do everything" to stop the violence from spreading across the Paris area.
"Those who shoot at policemen, those who beat a police officer almost to death are criminals and must be treated as such," he told parliament earlier. "We will do everything tonight to ensure maximum security."
Hopefully, they can get this under control. This is the most up to date article from AFP, so I have no better information about any developments over there.
World news | Gaius Tuesday, 27 November , 2007
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This ain’t Hell, but you can see it from here » Third night of Paris rioting — Tuesday, 27 November , 2007 @ 6:38 pm
By Maggie, Tuesday, 27 November , 2007 @ 9:00 pm
I’m sorry … Remind me again … “Youths” is code word for what/who in France?
By Gaius, Tuesday, 27 November , 2007 @ 11:18 pm
Lawless thugs.
By Quilly Mammoth, Wednesday, 28 November , 2007 @ 1:17 am
Sorry, Gaius, it’s code for Muslim Immigrants. However, it should be noted that such youth are basically outside the workforce of France…they can’t _qualify_ for the 36 hour a week with no firing jobs. Fertile ground for AQ operatives.