PARIS -- Police loosed water cannons and tear gas on rioting students and activists who rampaged through a McDonald's and attacked storefronts in the capital Saturday, as demonstrations against a plan to relax job protections spread in a widening arc across France. The protests, which drew about 500,000 in some 160 cities across the country, were the biggest show yet of escalating anger that is testing the strength of the conservative *snicker* government before elections next year.McDonald's melee
In Paris, seven officers and 17 protesters were injured in two melees at the close of the march, at the Place de la Nation in eastern Paris and the Sorbonne University. Police said they arrested 156 people in the French capital. Four cars were set afire, police said, and a McDonald's restaurant was attacked along with storefronts. Tensions escalated late Saturday as about 500 yoots moved on to the Sorbonne, trying to break through blockades erected after police stormed the Paris landmark a week ago to dislodge occupying students. The university has become a symbol of the protest. Police turned water cannons on the protesters at the Sorbonne and were seen throwing youths to the ground, hitting them and dragging them into vans.
| Remember: the Sorbonne students are the 'best and brightest' in France. They're the one who are virtually guaranteed jobs and an upper-middle class life. |
| I saw a few reports from last week's festivities at the Sorbonne that the original organizers intended everything to stay peaceful, but that (unsurprisingly) some of the anarchist/let's break stuff and blame The Man types infiltrated and made a real mess of things, even destroying a (small) part of the school's rare books collection. |
| The anarchist crowd being large and, um, unusually well organized ... |
Gap torched in Paris
In an apparent effort to set fire to a police van serving as a blockade, protesters instead torched the entrance of a nearby Gap, engulfing the small porch in flames. With commerce snarled in some cities, people asked whether Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin
| Hey Dom...how does it feel to walk in Dubya's shoes for a kilometer or two? You *know* what you're doing will cause pain. But you also know that it *must* be done. |
''Aren't we the future of France?'' asked Aurelie Silan, a 20-year-old student who joined a river of protesters in Paris.
Sure, Aurelie, if you wanna call that a future.
| Sure you are, you silly git. Now smile and ask me if I'd like fries with that. |
| You're the bestest and brightest, Aurelie. |