http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/theworld/2006/O ctober/theworld_October832.xml <http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/theworld/2006/ October/theworld_October832.xml§ion=theworld&col> §ion=theworld&col=
French suburb riots could resume: intelligence agency (AFP) 23 October 2006 PARIS - The French police intelligence agency warned Monday that tensions are at fever-pitch in the high-immigration suburbs hit by last year's riots and told the government to prepare for a possible new flare-up on the anniversary later this week. In a secret report quoted in Le Figaro newspaper, the General Intelligence (RG) agency said that "most of the conditions that a year ago led to the unleashing of collective violence across a large part of France, are still in place." The warning was made public a day after clashes between police and rioters who set fire to a bus in the southern Paris suburb of Grigny. Over the past four weeks police say they have been the targets of a series of ambushes in the Paris outskirts. The RG said that the situation was particularly tense in the northeastern suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois, where the accidental deaths of two youths in an electrical sub-station on October 27 last year sparked three weeks of nationwide disturbances. Though the town was relatively quiet at the moment, "it could at any moment tip over into violence," the report said. The whole of the Ile-de-France region - greater Paris - "is the source of very deep concern ... it is to be feared that tensions get more acute as we approach October 27," it said. Nearly 10,000 cars and 200 buildings were torched in the 2005 riots, which cast an unflattering light on France's problems in integrating its large immigrant communities of black and Arab origin. Violence subsided after the government of President Jacques Chirac declared a state of emergency - a measure not enacted since the war in Algeria in the 1950s ane early 60s. Some 3,000 people were arrested and 120 police injured. In recent days police unions have sounded the alarm about a resurgence of violence in the poor Paris outskirts, warning that youths seemed more intent than before on physically attacking officers on patrol. In Sunday's incident a gang hijacked a bus in the early afternoon at the Grande Borne estate, ordered the passengers off and then doused the vehicle in petrol and set it alight. Clashes with riot police lasted three hours. "At the Grande Borne, the youths went one notch further in their provocation. Some of them are trying with all their power to get us to do something stupid, so they can justify their violence and spread it," Frederic Lagache of the Alliance police union told Le Parisien newspaper. "We have the feeling that some in the difficult neighbourhoods want to have a replay of the riots .... The nearer we get to the anniversary, the more poisonous the atmosphere," he said. Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy said that there "is no advance sign as yet of any new riots," but officials have noted that the approaching half-term holiday could - as happened last year - encourage outbreaks of trouble by leaving youths with time on their hands. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
