France drawing lessons as violence waning
From Marie SERPIN
PARIS—Violence in France fell sharply overnight, the police chief said
Thursday, one day after the government toughened its stance by imposing
emergency measures and ordering deportations of foreigners involved in
riots that have raged for two weeks.
In the past two nights, there was a notable decline in the number of car
burnings — a barometer of the intensity of the country’s worst civil
unrest in nearly four decades. National Police Chief Michel Gaudin said
there was a “very sharp drop” in violence overnight. While youths have
been battling riot police with rocks and firebombs, “there were
practically no clashes with police,” he said.
The government ordered a 12-day state of emergency that went into effect
on Wednesday in an effort to quell the rioting. And Interior Minister
Nicolas Sarkozy said local authorities had been told to deport
foreigners convicted so far for their roles.
A French anti-racism group, SOS-Racisme, called the measure illegal. The
group’s president said he had asked France’s highest administrative
body, the Council of State, to intervene. “Nicolas Sarkozy’s proposal is
illegal,” Dominique Sopo said. SOS-Racisme said it considers Sarkozy’s
measure a mass deportation, while French law requires that each
expulsion be studied on a case-by-case basis. The body has 48 hours to
respond.
Police detained 203 people overnight, national police spokesman Patrick
Hamon said. More than 2,000 people have been detained since the violence
broke out. A municipal police officer and a firefighter were injured.
Some cities, including the Riviera resorts of Cannes and Nice, imposed
curfews on minors. Hamon said the rioting, which had spread throughout
France, now appeared to be concentrated in certain cities, including
Toulouse, Lille, Lyon, Strasbourg and Marseille.
The violence began Oct. 27 among youths in the northeastern Paris region
of Seine-Saint-Denis angry over the accidental deaths of two teenagers,
one of Mauritanian descent and the other of Tunisian descent. But they
grew into a nationwide insurrection marked by extensive arson and
clashes with police.
Violence shakes investors’ confidence
From Anne LYON
The
Daily Mail's Correspondent in Paris
PARIS—While two leading Pakistani businessmen, Mr. Mansha ( Automotive
sector) and Mr. Butt ( Fashion designer), scheduled to make
multi-million Euro investments in Paris already shelving their
investment in France projects, the continuous spread of social unrest in
France is further undermining other investors' confidence in the euro
and raising fears of an interest rate hike in the euro zone, a prospect
that is taking a heavy toll on bonds.
The euro plunged to a two-year low versus the dollar as youths across
France torched more than 1,000 vehicles despite government plans to
impose curfews to quell 2 weeks of violence.
Investors remained on edge as a few cars were also burnt in Brussels in
what appeared to be an imitation of the violence in France, though there
is so far only limited evidence that the unrest is spreading beyond the
euro zone's second largest economy.
"See! That's what I told you. It is happening continuously and French
government is unable to protect the property of the taxpayers. My cars,
that I was planning to sell in Paris, would have been made just loads of
ashes by now, had I invested in France as per schedule", asserted Mr.
Mansha, a billionaire, Tokyo-based Pakistani automotive industrialist.
Mansha is just one of those who have developed serious reservations over
the ability of French government in providing the safety and security to
taxpayers and particularly to the foreign investors. French government,
that had to finally imposed martial law in different parts of the
country to control mob attacks has been very badly exposed as being
incapable of handling such situations. This inability of the government
has raid many questions about its policies and their affective
implementation regarding curbing the terrorism.
China concerned over citizens’ safety
From Angela Yang
BEIJING—A Foreign Ministry spokesperson, at a regular press conference
in here, said that the Chinese government was highly concerned for
Chinese citizens affected by the current nationwide rioting in France.
Liu Jianchao said, according to the latest information, three Chinese
have been slightly hurt since the violence started on October 27, with
one Chinese person's vehicle being burned and five warehouses owned by
Chinese looted.
"The Chinese government and the Chinese embassy in France are very
concerned about the current situation of the ethnic Chinese in France,"
said Liu, who also reminded Chinese living in France to watch out for
their own safety and property. The Chinese embassy has already sent
officials to visit those Chinese who suffered economic losses,
expressing consolation and telling them to contact the embassy whenever
necessary, said Liu. "We also believe that the French government will
adopt effective measures to control the present situation as quickly as
possible and guarantee the safety of Chinese, French and people from
other countries.
The current violence began in Clichy-sous-Bois, northeast of Paris, when
two teenagers were accidentally electrocuted while hiding in an
electrical sub-station apparently trying to flee a police identity
check. President Jacques Chirac convened an emergency cabinet meeting
yesterday, empowering local authorities to impose curfews if necessary
to restore public order. According to French police, 226 towns have been
wrecked and 1,173 vehicles were torched overnight from Monday to Tuesday
and some 330 people arrested.
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