As the violence in France entered its 18th night, the political consequences of the worst rioting to hit France in 40 years begin to make themselves apparent.
PARIS, Nov. 13 — The violence in France’s poor suburban communities persisted in the south Sunday, with attackers ramming burning cars into a retirement home and a school in one town. Nationwide, however, the unrest that has gone on for 18 nights continued to subside.
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Some of the worst incidents over the weekend occurred in southern France. In Carpentras, a town of 28,000 people in the Provence region, young men rammed burning cars into a retirement center and a school in separate attacks Saturday night. Police said no one was injured. On Friday night, a man on a motorcycle hurled two molotov cocktails at a mosque, slightly damaging the building.
In the southeastern city of Lyon, France’s third-largest urban area, traces of gasoline were discovered Sunday on the exterior of the Grand Mosque, but no fire was reported, police said. About 50 young men and boys rampaged through the city’s main square Saturday night, attacking street vendors’ stalls, small shops and cars.
Arsonists torched an electronics store Saturday night in Blangnac, a community on the outskirts of the southern city of Toulouse that has been the scene of much unrest in recent nights
So now it not just a matter of burning cars, but using them as weapsons. And as for those political consequences:
The violence, which has hit nearly every major city and town in France, has opened a nationwide debate over the inequities and discrimination in French society.
A poll published by Le Journal du Dimanche newspaper Sunday indicated that 71 percent of those surveyed do not believe President Jacques Chirac can resolve the social problems that fueled the riots. The survey also showed that 25 percent of the respondents support the policies of Jean-Marie Le Pen, a politician who has capitalized on the violence to promote his National Front party’s “zero immigration” platform.
Meanwhile, the Washington Post confines this story to page A13………..
Linked with Don Surber
