France: A State of Emergency
Apparently the riots slacked-off in some areas. If that’s the case then the increased police presence may have helped. However, the French government has now declared a 12-day long state of emergency. (Link goes to the NY Times, but there are numerous articles available with the same report.)
The lede:
France declared a 12-day state of emergency today in an attempt by the government to curb the worst civil disturbances in the country in nearly four decades.
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The French Riots
Violence in France The government of Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin used a 1955 law drafted during the Algerian War to impose a curfew and other restrictive measures on areas where rioters have sown disorder in the streets for 12 days, burning thousands of cars, targeting businesses, schools and churches with gasoline bombs, and firing ammunition at the police. At least one person has died.
Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy announced after an emergency cabinet meeting this morning that the curfew would take effect at midnight in areas to be determined at a meeting of senior regional officials later in the day.
By mid-afternoon, the officials - prefects of France’s seven military zones - were still trying to hammer out details of the measure, said Franck Louvrier, a spokesman for Mr. Sarkozy. He said it was unclear whether the curfew would apply only to minors or to the entire population of towns like Clichy-sous-Bois, the suburb northeast of Paris where the trouble started on Oct. 27 when two youths jumped over the wall of an electrical substation and died, thinking they were being pursued by the police.
Some details on the law:
The law itself states that emergency measures can be enacted by government decree for up to 12 days on all or part of the territory of France. Beyond a curfew, the law gives the authorities powers to conduct raids without a warrant; to restrict freedom of the press and freedom of assembly; to shut down theaters; to close bars; and to put under house arrest any individual whose activities are deemed dangerous to the maintenance of law and order.
A news broadcaster for the state-run radio station France-Inter said at midday that no restrictions would be applied to the press and the theater, but Mr. Sarkozy’s spokesman declined to confirm this. People arrested under the law can be jailed for two months, fined 3,750 Euros, or both.
At this point the government has to look tough. The state of emergency makes the Patriot Act look rather mild, doesn’t it?
When people complain about the PATRIOT Act, I’ll just point them here.
Comment by HaroldHutchison — 11/8/2005 @ 4:09 pm
Recent reports indicate that the violence has mitigated somewhat. Part of that assessment is based on the reduced number of car-b-queues. However, it should be obvious that a car burned on day 1 is not available to burn on day 12. By now, the cars available for tinder would, by now, burned to a crisp or driven out of the area. Also, car burnings seems to be a favorite pasttime. Recently, one talk show host reported that more than 29,000 cars throughout France have been torched since the beginning of the year.
Comment by JonAinLA — 11/10/2005 @ 11:24 pm