Posted on 11/07/2005 5:32:11 PM PST by NZerFromHK
French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin seemed to strike the right note in his response to the riots.
But his proposals also showed up the scale of the changes called for in society, to heal the deep wounds that have been exposed.
Mr de Villepin has made a start. No more evasion, and not too much rhetoric about the "values of the Republic."
He has called the situation by its real name - "a crisis in France's cities."
Others have called it a rebellion by an angry underclass.
Mistakes admitted
The French prime minister struck a balance between denouncing the violence and focusing on the future.
The government's response would be "firm and fair". All acts of law-breaking were to be severely condemned.
But France, he acknowledged, had made mistakes in its treatment of its immigrants, especially those from Africa.
Giving a response was a tricky task for a prime minister known for his dashing style but also his record of never having been elected.
He is also known for his romantic notions of French history, but his main goal now is to rescue the sagging reputation of his mentor, President Jacques Chirac.
If Mr de Villepin can fight his way out of this black period he may succeed Mr Chirac as president. If he fails, that prize could go to his arch-rival, Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, or another.
After 12 days and nights of riots and car-burning, the prime minister's much-awaited response was in two parts - restoring law and order, and tackling the problems of unemployment of up to 40%, and deep alienation on the part of many among France's more than five million people of Arab and African descent.
Mr de Villepin stressed the government's first priority was to restore calm and stop the nightly violence in the cities and suburbs. He announced:
* Continuing large-scale police deployments, including 1,500 extra reserve officers, in troubled areas
* Swift and effective justice for all law-breakers
* A judicial inquiry into the deaths of two teenagers in Clichy-sous-Bois, Paris, which sparked the riots
* New powers for the mayors of French cities and municipalities, to impose curfews and maintain order
* A restoration of spending programmes (recently cut back) on community associations of all kinds, to promote social solidarity
'Harassment'
Community leaders from France's main ethnic minorities have demanded new laws to end discrimination in jobs and housing, and an end to what they say is police harassment.
They resent police searches for "sans-papiers" - illegal immigrants - and the constant threat of deportation hanging over them. They also want the right to vote, even for those without French citizenship.
In response, Mr de Villepin proposed:
* A tripling of state scholarships in poor areas, and increased spending on training schemes for under-achieving young people. Some 150,000 children, mainly from immigrant families, are leaving school without any qualifications
* A lowering to 14 of the age when children wanting to quit school can begin an apprenticeship; this idea was at once criticised by some teachers' leaders
* More company job training schemes in problem areas. Immigrants with a college degree complain they rarely even get job interviews because of blatant discrimination
* An urban renewal programme, re-building districts damaged by the riots and building more humane living environments
* More, unspecified, sanctions to counter social discrimination of all kinds
The prime minister skirted round the highly sensitive issue of Islam, the religion of the great majority of the immigrants and their offspring.
Many French Muslims demand more public recognition by the state, and resent the law which bans the wearing of Muslim headscarves.
Mr de Villepin said only that in France all faiths were respected. He acknowledged public concerns about the growth of radical Islamic thinking, but played down the urgency of the issue.
The recent riots are called the worst since 1968. The government has taken its stand on how to repair the damage.
Does anyone know ways the wake the BBC from its alternative universe?
How unexpected. France just surrendered....
If that's firm, God save us from squishy.
LOL! Give em all Cadillacs and a million dollar check. That will fix everything! * rolling eyes*
They keep this up, and I might start rooting for the muslim hordes.
Never mind the riots and the burnings. Let's get to the really IMPORTANT question. Can de Villepin's political career be saved?
Yessiree... that sounds like a surrender to me, too.
The immigrants from N. Africa already get so much welfare that they don't have to work. Imagine: you can live in France, in Paris, and not have to work.
That is why everyone comes there.
They are NOT coming, as in the USA, to find work.
There is no work and so they remain unemployed, but on the public dole.
End the welfare, and no one will want to come.
Guess we worried about the French Commmunists for nothing...
Wow. An affirmative action program. How novel. How effective. How pathetic.
Yeah, a good whack from his purse!
So the French gov't is basically paying tribute to the barbarians, hoping they'll stop breaking things. But didn't we do the same thing after the Rodney King/LA riots?
Hollywood Responds with "crickets"
Move Hollywood! Move NOW! You folks can afford the commute from France, and if you can't,,, doubt we'd miss you.
TT
Check out that Hollywood handsome photo of de Villepin! I think the BBC is in love!
I have said the same thing. I don't know who to root for. On the one hand France is trying to "France" their way out of this. On the other hand, we don't want to have to go in again and save France from their selfs again. The idea that France will raise taxes to pay for these actions just makes me squirm with glee as they will prove that they are thegutless-socialist-inept-wannabee power sorry country that they are.
The French are on their own.
Extreme sarcasm.
In truth, I like the French much better than the stinkin Algerian bums. But if they keep appeasing, I won't shed a tear when they castrate Chirac and de Villepan and make them wear burkhas!
Yup.
California-democrat
Detroit-Democrat
France-Socialist
Any country hosting soccer-Socialist/democrat
Why is it we never see a riot after a Nascar race?
FTF FTF FTF FTF FTF FTF FTF < F. THE FR.>
they need to lose much before they'll change.....
Yes, we shall write each and every one of the lawbreakers a strongly worded letter...
The french are pretty lousy colonialists. Look at Algeria, West Africa and now they can't even properly administer the colony known as "Suburban Paris".
It is exactly that. There is little difference between Gummint housing, and shantytown suburbs. They should have the opportunity for ownership of private property. It seems like something simple, but even in France there are so many barriers, procedures, time involved, expense, that most are discouraged from starting the process. They can't even easily get permission to subdivide and sell property, and zoning also restricts the possibility. That's what they need, and that's what the politicians aren't getting off their padded seats to make happen.
If he tried to strike the right note, I think he totally missed the whole piano.
If I were 19 and in a ski mask in Paris at the moment I'd be laughing my @ss off.
And in exchange for this Villepin swore to only increase taxes by 40%. And the masses rejoiced.
Great post. I agree! Cheers
You make some very valid points.
Posters on the forum here make a very large error when they make an analogy of rioting in France to rioting in America. The reality is that America is the ONLY country that assumes if you live here and want to assimilate, YOU CAN! All immigrants ( not the illegals )in this country are Americans in the fullest sense of the word.
In Europe, that is not the case. There are French...and then there are immigrants who are French citizens. And the French ( along with most other european countries) do not really tolerate FULL assimilation. sorry, but that IS the reality.
The immigrant then has a choice. Stay a "not quite" really a Frenchman, or German, etc. or go to America.
Reparations! That's the ticket!
It's political. Europe has a bad case of it, whereas in America we don't tolerate an excess of it. They say 20% of the world is Western, but it seems some of that 20% is headed rapidly for third world status. We are too, sort of, but America has been there before and has worked hard to climb out. It may be too late for others, even if they know what to do--the power of the state is limited after all.
That de Villepin fella sure is one tough hombre. I bet the "insurgents" are shaking in their boots.
Bet all the white unionists in Paris are going to love it when their "prosperity" gets shared with the hords.
Instead of flitting round in a skirt, a real man would tell the death cult to blow it out its a**--- then send in the military.
It is an assimilation problem and giving them welfare and shacks does nothing to assimilate them.
I've mowed the lawn and washed the truck all that and I emptied the Icechest before the ice melted so I have to say that dang it all and all that was pretty good especially the part...
"the first missile into the aspirin factory screamed from the sky just as it reached apex .treeeeeent!!!!"
"as it crested and came hurtling back to Earth . LOTTTTTT!!!!!"
"as it neared the vacant building a small puff of "oh thank you..." (but that came from the Oval Office, from Bill Clinton... as he turned from the sink)"
(from the "small puff" part forward, it came from a Muse that I have never used before, after I posted it, I read it and I cracked my self up, so that is possible, I'm gonna keep that Muse)
Gnight
TT
Just don't quit your day job! ;o)
Hey! Give them credit. They actually took 12 days to surrender. That's a record isn't it? What was it in WW2? 3 days? Less?
I was being sarcastic. I agree with you.
>>>Just don't quit your day job! ;o)<<<
(I know, Can't drink on the Day Job, and one day the Wife may lay down the law when it comes to HoneyDos as well, but until she does there is at least one Muse I can keep alive)
Gnight... for real this time
Hasta Luigi, as Bugs would say.
They left out the part about building large new high security prisons to house the permanent thug class and hiring more police to make the arrests.
That's exactly it.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.