Sunday, November 06, 2005

Translation of article linked in “Practice makes perfect”

From ¡No Pasaràn!: Practice makes perfect we linked the following by AFP:

10e nuit d'émeutes dans les banlieues, fermeté du gouvernement

PARIS (AFP) – the 10th consecutive night of urban violences ignited in the ghettos close to Paris and in surrounding areas, with a hundred cases of vehicle arson and ten shootings by 22H00.

«It is too early to draw the conclusions if the level of violence is unchanged or rising» said one police source whereas the appeal for calm and government promises to hold a firm line multiplied Saturday.

The outset of the evening was marked by several fires in the Essonne: two schools, and a nursery school in Grigny, were set badly damaged. "To set fire to a school is unacceptable, but Sarkozy is the one who ignited it," said Yvan Lemaître, the relative of a pupil.

According to the prefecture a McDonald's in Corbeil-Essonnes in the district of Coquibus, was partially destroyed by someone ramming a car into it. There were no injuries and the driver fled on foot.

About fifteen cars were also set on fire in that department.

Twenty-eight car fires were reported Saturday by 23H00 in a Seine-Saint-Denis. On Friday by the same time there were 33 according to a prelimary analysis by the prefecture.

During the evening, several attempted cased of arson at schools were averted by the firefighters in Pantin, Sevran and Tremblay-in-France, the prefecture added.

In Noisy-le-Grand, a fire devastated a 2.000 m2 gymnasium and destroyed ten cars in the vicinity, a photographer of the AFP noted.

In Drancy, residents reported to police two brothers, 14 and 15, who tried to set fire to a truck early in the evening.

In Val-de-Oise, according to a provisional assessment of the prefecture, 19 vehicles, including one tractor-trailer, were set on fire early in the evening and a score of people were arrested. Three police officers were lightly wounded by stone-throwing in Goussainville when they left their vehicle.

At Yvelines in Mureaux, tens of young people had gathered at two high-rises in the quartier des Musiciens and threw projectiles at police early Saturday evening.

Even in the heart of Paris, four cars were targeted Saturday evening by nothing less than a flame thrower at Ruet Dupuis, in the 3rd arrondissement, close to Place de la République, noted one journalist of the AFP.

In Toulouse, firefighters had to face many more arson attempts on Saturday evening. On the whole about thirty around 22 hours, according to CODIS while the police force tried to prevent small groups of young people from doing the same thing in several populous suburbs.

Overnight on Saturday to Sunday, the police deployment is similar to Friday nights. In Ile-de-France, in addition to the local contingent, reinforcements of 2.300 police officers were mobilized into the area.

In total, overnight on Friday 900 vehicles had been set on fire to and 250 people were arrested.

On Saturday the parents of the two electrocuted dead teenagers on October 27 in Clichy-sous-Bois (Seine-Saint-Denis) and of the federation of the Moslems of Clichy-Montfermeil called for calm and requested "a stop of all violence" and called for "civic calm".

Several peace marches took place in Parisian suburbs to call for an end to the violence.

French president Jacques Chirac, whose silence astonished certain deputies in his own party received an offer of "aide" from Libyan leader Mouammar Kadhafi, according to Jana, the official Libyan news agency.
End of item. Material covered previously has been omitted

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