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Chirac: France Riots Reflect 'Profound Malaise'
 President It doesn't help that everyone is wearing leisure suits and gold chains, driving crappy cars, and listending to disco and sludgy heavy metal. In his first address to the nation since unrest erupted Oct. 27, the president said the laws of France must be obeyed and values rekindled in youths living in the poor, mostly Arab and African immigrant suburbs ringing French cities. He spoke after the Cabinet approved a measure to extend a 12-day state of emergency until mid-February if needed. The emergency measures empower regional officials to impose curfews on minors, conduct house searches and take other steps to prevent unrest. About 40 French towns, including France's third-largest city, Lyon, have used the measure to put curfews for minors into effect. He said he has decided to set up a corps of volunteers to offer training for 50,000 youths by 2007. He also said the French media, which is not very ethnically diverse, need to "better reflect the reality of France today." You need white European leftists, black African leftists, and Arab/Berber leftists. Chirac again pointed a finger at parents, whom officials have blamed for failing to stop teenage youths from destructive rampages that have hopscotched around France. "Parental authority is vital. Families must assume all of their responsibilities. Those that refuse should be punished as the law allows," he said. While condemning the violence, Chirac also reached out to disgruntled suburban youths. "I want to say to the children of difficult neighborhoods, whatever their origins, that they are all the daughters and sons of the Republic," he said. Maybe they don't want to be. In the Paris suburb of Draveil, the mayor said he would cut off municipal aid â such as vouchers for cafeterias or daycare centers â for the families of those convicted of rioting or arson. "I'll tell them that if they want their children to eat at the cafeteria, the first step is not to set it on fire," said Georges Tron, a politician from Chirac's center-right party. Government spokesman Jean-Francois Cope said the bill approved by the Cabinet on Monday would leave open the possibility of ending the emergency measures before three months are up, if order is restored. In the next few days, France is expected to start deporting foreigners implicated in the violence, a plan by law-and-order Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy that has raised concerns among human rights groups. Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said he agreed that illegal immigrants could be sent home, but not foreigners with permission to live in France. "A French person who carried out a crime or a misdemeanor in France cannot be treated in one way while a foreigner with papers in order is treated in another," he told Europe-1 radio. "It's not possible." Then make it possible Posted by: Jackal 2005-11-15 |
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