is france getting ready to surrender?

[manu1959]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4412316.stm

 

[Annie]

President Jacques Chirac says France is determined to prevail in the face of widespread rioting that has gripped mostly African and Arab communities.

Mr Chirac spoke after chairing crisis talks following the 10th - and worst - night of violence, arson and looting.

He said it was an "absolute priority" to re-establish order. But moments afterwards, fresh unrest erupted in Orleans, Rennes and Nantes.

Mr Chirac has been under pressure for having failed to intervene publicly.

Rioters burnt nearly 1,300 cars and more than 300 arrests were made on Saturday night from the cities of Nice to Strasbourg.

'Determined'

"The law must have the last word," Mr Chirac told reporters in his first public address on the violence.

"The Republic is quite determined... to be stronger than those who want to sow violence or fear."

Mr Chirac promised arrest, trials and punishment for perpetrators.

Sounds good thus far...

But he also noted that "respect for all, justice and equal opportunity," were needed to end the unrest.

I guess this is the surrender part. Whoops, my bad. Nuance I would suppose.

Mr Chirac has faced criticism from opposition politicians for not speaking publicly about the unrest since it began on 27 October. His only previous comments came through a spokesman.

Sunday's remarks came after talks with key ministers including Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin and Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, at the presidential palace in Paris.

Correspondents say such security meetings are not usually made public, and its announcement is indicative of the gravity of the situation.

Yeah, like the whole damn world is watching what the hell you do! Welcome to our world!

Mr de Villepin promised extra security where it was needed.

"We cannot accept any 'no-go' areas", he said.

Gee, security is needed in how many places? You have enough police for that?

Unrest began after the deaths of two youths in the rundown Paris suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois, who were accidentally electrocuted at an electricity sub-station after reportedly fleeing police.

Police injured

The northern town of Evreux in Normandy saw some of the worst unrest on Saturday night with at least 30 cars burned along with three shops, the local authorities said.

A school was also petrol-bombed in the town while four police officers were injured in clashes with youths, some of them reportedly wielding baseball bats.

The ghettos certainly were a breeding ground, but how after 9/11 the government could fail to predict this, is beyond me. I guess the paradigms just weren't ready to be changed in the 'royal' Gallic minds...

 

[Gunny]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4412316.stm

I thought France always had a prepared, fill-in-the-blanks statement of surrender handy. :read:

 

[Lefty Wilbury]

lets hope they touch the effiel tower and the louve. i always thought the mona lisa was an ugly transvestite yet they called it art. let it burn. i'm surprised a video of these riots hasn't surfaced on the net with the talking heads song "burning down the house" as its soundtrack.

 

[manu1959]

lets hope they touch the effiel tower and the louve. i always thought the mona lisa was an ugly transvestite yet they called it art. let it burn. i'm surprised a video of these riots hasn't surfaced on the net with the talking heads song "burning down the house" as its soundtrack.

mona lisa is in the vatican museum......love the talking heads

 

[Lefty Wilbury]

mona lisa is in the vatican museum

are you sure about that?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/news/story/0,11711,1452886,00.html

maybe they moevd it since april i don't know but it is still an ugly picture