It's not the first time that this kind of riots happen in France but I think it's the most destructive and the longest so far ...

It all started because two young boys (police asked them their papers and they ran away, but other versions of the story can be heard too...) tried to escape from police by entering a place containing electricity (don't now the exact word sorry :/) and they died because of high voltage.
But this is not the most sad part of the story because now the suburbs of Paris are full of young people buring cars and fighting against the police, without true reason (do you think it's a good way to show your anger?)

I'm begining to worry because they are going farther each day, and they are getting closer to where I live, 2 cars have been burnt last night in the city where my university is and even if it's a big city I hope all this will stop soon :/

Here is a link to CNN news about it.

It's amazing. France has had so much increasing tension about immigration and culture clashes, and apparently it was just ready to blow. It's very scary, especially since I generally look up to France as a social system.

If the violence comes to close to you, is there any chance of going away for a few days? Is it showing any signs of quieting down yet?

The problem to me is that suburbs youth think they are the strongest of the world and even the police fear to go and try to calm down the situation. These young think that the police always wants to hrut them so they even fight against the firemen when they come to help aperson or light off a fire !

Something must be done but I fear it will be very violent.

It's not too close right now (I haven't even seen the burnt cars myslef) but tensions are visible even just in the train that I take to go to university. I hope it will cool down soon.

That is awful, I really hope they don't reach you and it all just calms down. *hugs* Stay safe!

It has been all over the news here too in Holland. It is just terrible. Have you heard of the disabled woman they set on fire last night? That is just too much!! They must stop it!! what are they gaining from it??! I mean, its not like they can get the attention of anyone in a good way!!!

I really hope it will end soon and my prayers are with you.

greetings from holland

Jaysus. I second the idea of you getting a bit further away. That's terrible.

Yes we heard about ths woman on the news today. They interviewed her daughter who said that her mother said the boy not to do this because she could not escape but he did it anyway, she was saved from the fire by the bus driver.

The problem in France right now is that if police do anything then there will be acts of rebellion from the suburbs such as burning other cars, attacking people... sometimes I think that the police is here but has no right at all, they can't do anything and now the young people who made these horrble acts feel powerful.

I love my coutnry but all I can do right now is to hope that something will be done but not somethin gtoo extreme... I will not talk about politics because I don't want to but all I can say is that maybe you have already heard about a ùan called LePen whose ideas are extremes and horribles (he wants all starngers to bebrought back to their "coutnry" but their country is france!! ...) but some french people think that the only ones to cause trouble are from north african countries because we use to see them everytime something is going wrong.

I don't really far them burning cars, I just fear that if they keep on doing that, most french pople will think algerians and such -> they are the ones who make troubles and problems -> we have to do something and then they will do things like voting for LePen whch is in my opinion an error...


I really hope an issue will be found :/

After a quick search I have found that since november 4 th , more than 500 cars and 27 buses have burnt, 78 people arrested. Tonight will be the 10th "night of violence".

[Edited to condense posts ~Jeni]

i really hope it'll be over soon they said on the news tonight that over 1400 cars had been set on fire

I'm honestly surprised no one has been killed yet! I hope all our French ponies can stay safe during this troubled time! If this was happening in my area, I would be scared to death!

We haven't had as much press coverage here in USA as I would think, since the perps are Muslim youths. We didn't even hear about the disabled woman being burned. That makes me feel awful, as one of my dearest friends is in a wheelchair due to Spina Bifida. It's just sick!

I hope it ends soon.

Here's what I predict will happen: de Villepin will continue to talk, and do nothing. Eventually it will turn cold and rainy, and the rioting will stop by itself. De Villepin will immediately step in to reward the north Africans with increased social spending, and promises to rebuild their neighborhoods better than they were before. If the weather continues to suppress the rioting (which is likely in November) he will spin this as a great victory of negotiation over force. By the time the weather turns nice again, he'll be able to be pouring enough money into the suburbs to finance distractions (sports leagues, etc) or possibly makework jobs to keep them busy until the elections are over.

If he's very lucky, he'll be able to use this interlude of quiet to gain victory over Le Pen and Sarkozy in the next elections.

Having been elected, he then has a choice of cutting social services back to a supportable level, or of dragging the French economy even further into the dumpster in an effort to keep up the support levels. If he does the first, he's likely to trigger a recurrence of rioting immediately, as the rioters feel themselves betrayed. If he does the second, then the underlying issue of young men unable to find work will only get worse, setting the stage for more and worse rioting in the future.

I just hope everything gets better there, I thing violence only brings more violence, please stay safe, and if things start heating up around your area try to get away as soon as possible, I'll keep you and your country in my prayers, and hope this young people comes to their senses and realize you don't get anything by hurting innocent people.

Rocket wrote:

If the weather continues to suppress the rioting (which is likely in November) he will spin this as a great victory of negotiation over force.

all you said could be true but I hope De Villepin will not be elected

every day we here news concerning these riots but it seems that people get tired of it and don't talk about it too much anymore, even if the problem is still here, now the whole county is touched. A car was burnt in the city of a friend and he told me that an helicopter is partolling every night.

No dead people have been reported yet, only injured ones (whe don't have news from the disabled woman but I hope she is doing ok).

I hope it will stop soon... -_-

hate to see this,
we see the news everyday on TV even in taiwan too...
i have been to Paris,it's such a beautiful place and friendly people....
hope everything back to normal soon!! and please be safe!


tu

Malancaiwen, I agree with you completely... I can't add much!

De Villepin makes my skin crawl. What's really schocking is that he's never been elected to public office, yet he's PM. He's just a civil servant who rose through the ranks and I think it's outrageous - the fact that he's PM at a time when social divisions and urban unrest are peaking makes it even worse. The rioters, and inhabitants of the banlieue in general already feel betrayed and excluded, and putting some patronising, bad-poetry writing, out of touch old man in charge of the country is just asking for trouble.

The problem is Sarkozy's useless as well; his remarks (calling the inhabitants of the suburbs 'scum) and saying the area sandblasting) are only making the situation worse.

I love France, I love living here, and it's a real shame this is happening but it's not a surprise and I think Berlin or Madrid could have tipped over the balabce first, this is a problem everywhere. One of the reasons I like France is the great health system, public transport, benefits system etc. OK, right now, I'm working and I pay a lot of tax - but not that much more than in the UK and I can certainly see what I'm getting for it. When I was a student here, I got the CAF housing benefit, and I didn't have to pay fees - compared to the UK that was fantastic.

I don't think investment in these areas will solve the problem but if it's done properly, with restructuring at every level - and some pretty fundamental changes in the way people think, which'll be the hard part - it would be possible.

Also, what has shocked me, is how localised it is. I live in central Paris (75) and I have seen *nothing*. The area where I live is business as usual. Parisians live in a bubble whilst the suburbs are turning into chaos... It is a bizarre situation and one I really hope they resolve for everyone's sake...

Hi purple-frances (I never saw you before ^^)

The problem is: what can be done to solve the problem? Violence will bring more violence, talking is not a solution either considering how the ones living in suburbs react to "talks", ... so what can be done? :/

I have no clue but I hope someone will find one. The whole country is not burning but it has to stop...