Sarkozy Moves to Quell Youth Rioters

By Brent Surgeoner
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Europe

VILLIERS-LE-BEL, France – French President Nicolas Sarkozy met with ministers today to find a solution to riots that have rocked the suburbs of Paris for three straight nights.

Although the initial violence consisted of youths setting fire to cars and buildings, tactics have escalated to include attacks on police officers with hunting rifles.  These latest attacks have been attributed to “urban guerrillas,” according to police union officials.

Sarkozy issued a firm statement in response to these latest attacks.  “Opening fire at officials is completely unacceptable,” he said.  “That has a name, it is attempted murder.”

The riots began on Sunday after two teenagers were killed in a collision involving their motorbike and a police car in the suburb of Villiers-le-Bel.  The town’s residents became enraged when the officers allegedly fled the scene without assisting the teenagers – an allegation wholly denied by the officers. 

An internal police investigation cleared the officers of any wrongdoing, further enraging residents.

Their anger was also fuelled by the longstanding tension between a mostly white police force in France and the Arab, black, and other minorities living in the impoverished suburbs surrounding Paris.  A high unemployment rate, increased presence of drug use, and heavy concentration of immigrants in the suburbs have created a deep sense of resentment amongst many in these neighborhoods.

Conditions are so poor that there are certain areas that police are even afraid to enter.

This deep brewing tension boiled over when the two North African teens, aged 15 and 16, were killed on their motorbike.

Neighborhood youths took to the street, setting fire to cars, a library, a nursery school and other buildings.  The rioters launched Molotov cocktails and crashed burning cars into buildings.

Of the three nights of rioting, officials say last night was more calm thanks to the deployment of 1,000 police officers to the Villiers-le-Bel area.  Helicopters are also patrolling the area with spotlights.  However, there was concern as the riots spread to at least five other neighboring suburbs, including Les Mureaux and Toulouse.

At least 130 officers have been injured and a couple dozen youths have been arrested.  Officials have said they will hand out heavy sentences to rioters.  As proof of their seriousness, officials already convicted and sentenced eight rioters to 3-10 months in prison on Tuesday after conducting “fast-track trials,” according to CNN.
Meanwhile Sarkozy met with the families of the two teens who were killed on Sunday.  He told the families that he would launch an inquiry into the events surrounding their deaths.

These riots have been much more severe than those in 2005, which lasted for three weeks.  The 2005 riots were sparked by a similar scenario – two teens were killed while evading police by electrocution while hiding in a power substation.

During those riots over 10,000 cars and 300 buildings were set on fire.

Sarkozy, then interior minister, drew heavy criticism after he referred to people living in housing projects as “scum.”

He is trying steer clear of that road by finding a solution with the help of his cabinet – Prime Minister Francois Fillon and Interior Minister Michele Alliot-Marie.

The recent riots have demonstrated that the decades-long solution of pouring money into low-income areas has done little to alleviate problems.  Junior Urban Affiars Minister Fadela Amara will present a new plan for the revitalization of project neighborhoods in January.  Her plan addresses improvements in transportation and education.

For more information, please see:

Yahoo (AP) - Sarkozy calls French riots unacceptable - 28 November 2007

BBC - Sarkozy holds riot crisis talks - 28 November 2007

Bloomberg - French Riots Curbed as 1,000 Policemen Deployed (Update1) - 28 November 2007

CNN (AP) - Unrest hits second French city - 27 November 2007