Posted on 10/07/2002 1:36:45 AM PDT by kattracks
Edited on 05/26/2004 5:09:16 PM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
October 7, 2002 -- PARIS - A Muslim man, accused of stabbing Paris' gay mayor, told interrogators yesterday he did it because he disliked politicians and homosexuals.
Mayor Bertrand Delanoe is expected to remain hospitalized for at least week to recover from the single wound to his abdomen. His office had initially described the injury as minor. He had surgery for three hours after being rushed to Pitie-Salpetriere Hospital.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Paris mayor recovering from attack
Sunday, October 6, 2002 Posted: 2:04 PM EDT (1804 GMT)
Bertrand Delanoe, Paris' Socialist mayor, was stabbed in his abdomenPARIS, France (CNN) -- Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe is recovering in hospital after being stabbed by an attacker as he left a concert in City Hall.
Delanoe, 52, was rushed by ambulance to the French capital's Pitie-Salpetriere hospital after an attacker lunged at him with a knife and slashed him during an all-night party at the elegant Hotel de Ville, officials told The Associated Press.
Delanoe was conscious after the man knifed him in his abdomen. The mayor urged his assistant to make sure the "Nuit Blanche," or "Sleepless Night" celebrations continued after the incident.
Eyewitnesses described the 39-year-old attacker as appearing deranged. Police are questioning the man they say has a criminal record and who is known to them.
The socialist mayor underwent three hours of surgery and was transferred to a postoperative recovery room on Sunday morning.
Segolene Royal, a former Socialist family minister who visited the mayor at the hospital, said he suffered injuries to several organs and would be in hospital for at least eight days
About 2,000 people were gathered at the venue for a rock concert when the attack happened about 2:30 a.m. (0023 GMT).
Delanoe was surrounded by a large entourage at the time of the attack and was on his way to check security in the city, the deputy mayor said.
Paris' chief of police and Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy -- whose main concern has been improving security across France -- has travelled to the hospital to check on the mayor.
Delanoe, Paris' first socialist mayor, has made many changes across the city since he was elected last year. He created "Nuit Blanche," the all-night party where all of Paris' major attractions stay open until dawn.
Many Parisians approved of his decision to create a beach along the riverside of the Seine, but traffic corridors he had set up across the city to allow express treatment for buses and bicycles have not been as popular.
The attack comes three months after a 25-year-old man fired a gun during a Bastille Day celebration in Paris, in an alleged attempt to assassinate French President Jacques Chirac, who was nearly 100 yards away at the time.
Chirac was not injured in the attack, and the man was detained and committed to a psychiatric ward.
In March, a gunman opened fire on a late-night city council meeting in the Paris suburb of Nanterre, killing eight people and injuring more than a dozen others.
None are so blind as those who will not see.
Leni
He merely melted into the French culture.
The French have absolutely zero sence of responsibility or accountability for their actions. They do not wash their bodies. They passed a law recently that no one can work more the 37 hours a week. They believe that the government must supply telephone service free of charge, Public transportation is a given, travel for free from the government. That country is so f'ed up, it is unbelievable. I've worked in Europe for years. These people are really disconnected. I disliked France, however, I loved Swissland (Luzern, Switzerland). Great town. Anyone wanting to travel to Swiss, let me know... lots of contacts.
Religion of Peace alert
...part of Paris' first-ever "Sleepless Night" festival...The mayor urged his assistant to make sure the "Nuit Blanche," or "Sleepless Night" celebrations...
Yesterday in an article about this stabbing I saw "nuit blanche" translated as "white night", which is the literal translation. Now I'm seeing "sleepless night".
Question for French speakers: is "nuit blanche" an idiomatic expression meaning "sleepless night"?
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