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Posted on 01/06/2014 7:07:18 AM PST by dennisw
France's leftist government ends blackout on nationwide New Year's Eve car burning, revealing figures confirming the spread of France's distinctive tradition of auto arson as protest
Socialist President François Hollande resumed publication of the burnt-car toll also caused sparks to fly. Conservative opponents claimed that revealing the information only poured gas on the New Year’s fires by inspiring copycat arsonists, while leftists countered that they were simply informing the public about a reality hidden by the previous government of the right. The nation’s flaming-auto fetish, some French observers sought explanations for the singularly antisocial custom of car toasting.
More amazing, still, is the fact that the New Year’s Eve auto roast is only part of the story. In announcing the New Year’s Eve tally on Jan. 2, Interior Minister Manuel Valls also revealed that figures provided by fire, police and insurance officials indicate that somewhere between 42,000 and 60,000 automobiles are intentionally torched in France every year. The majority of those go up in smoke in or near the disadvantaged suburban housing projects located outside most French cities.
The world took notice of France’s distinctive car-burning penchant during the three weeks of nationwide rioting in French housing projects in 2005, when 8,810 automobiles were incinerated by enraged youths. Yet, despite that riot-driven surge of car arson, year-end figures of around 43,000 for 2005 came in at around normal levels. Normal, that is, for flame-happy France.
When the conservative government of former President Nicolas Sarkozy began withholding New Year’s car-arson figures in 2010, officials said the move was designed to suppress copycat attacks, noting that youths in rival housing projects across France had begun competing over which town could produced the most charred autos. Conservatives accused Valls of egging on the vandals through his return to transparency.
(Excerpt) Read more at world.time.com ...
From January 2013
Isn’t it wonderful when the new immigrants assimilate so effectively they enjoy celebrating the host culture holidays as well?
Happy days all!
Yes, I noticed that.
But is your point that French yutes abandoned their New Year ‘celebratory tradition’?
I am please to tell you that the yoots have not let us down. They ignited a thousand French automobiles on New Years 2014>>>>>>
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French Interior Minister Manuel Valls reported that 1,067 vehicles were set ablaze on New Year’s Eve. The Local reports that Valls called it a “positive result” since last year the total number of cars burned was 1,193.
The destruction was spread across France with the worst concentration north of Paris in Seine-Saint-Denis, a heavily Muslim suburban area. This Press TV report is from last January but notes auto-arson was highest in the same Paris suburb last year. Press TV frames the issue as one of “alienation and anger”:
http://www.breitbart.com/InstaBlog/2014/01/02/Over-1-000-Cars-Torched-in-France-on-New-Year-s-Eve
Yay! My faith has been restored.
The numbers are down, but probably due to extreme cold weather i.e. Global Warming (if it is anything like it here in the States).
Zo, you will have zee Auto-Flambe?
Very good tonight.
Yutes will be yutes. :-)
How can someone write an article about this without mentioning the word “muslims”?
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