France Fielding Extra Police to Guard Against New Year's Unrest
By <http://query.nytimes.com/search/query?ppds=bylL&v1=CRAIG%20S.%20SMITH&fdq=1 9960101&td=sysdate&sort=newest&ac=CRAIG%20S.%20SMITH&inline=nyt-per> CRAIG S. SMITH and ARIANE BERNARD New York Times December 30, 2005 PARIS, Dec. 30 - <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/fr ance/index.html?inline=nyt-geo> France is fielding thousands of extra police officers across the country over New Year's Eve to guard against a potential wave of car burning after the civil unrest that drew international attention last month. Hundreds of cars are set ablaze in French cities over the holiday every year, and French officials fear that the arson could be even worse this year following the recent violence that destroyed thousands of vehicles and dozens of buildings. "There will be 25,000 police officers and security forces mobilized all over France," a national police spokeswoman said today, adding that it was a slight increase over last year. The spokeswoman said that as for every New Year's Eve, a crisis center will be set up at the Interior Ministry to monitor the security situation across the country. The interior minister, Nicolas Sarkozy, came back from vacations in Mauritius to be present in time for New Year's Eve. A statement from the Paris police headquarters said that security forces will "reinforce and adapt" their response to the unrest of last month, though it said there is no indication that there will be a repeat of that violence. Arson and scattered rioting swept France's working-class neighborhoods for three weeks in November after the accidental deaths of two minority teenagers who were fleeing police. The unrest highlighted the growing alienation of the country's second-generation immigrant youth and the rest of French society and triggered a national debate about housing and education reforms, as well as the need for affirmative action. The violence reached briefly into the heart of Paris, with scattered car fires, though it ultimately died down before coalescing into an organized movement. Still, France was stung by the images of burning cars and rampaging youth that were broadcast around the world and has tried to reassure tourists that the violence was isolated and primarily targeted property and not individuals. About 4,500 police officers, a steady number compared to last year, will be on duty in the Paris region, supported by helicopters and patrolling the streets and trains leading into the city and manning checkpoints across the capital to watch for potential troublemakers amid the hundreds of thousands of people expected to gather on the Champs-Élysées and around the Eiffel Tower to celebrate. As usual, trains and buses will run throughout the night. About 330 cars were destroyed in France last December 31, more than 50 in the eastern city of Strasbourg alone. City officials elsewhere in France have been instructed to clear their streets of abandoned cars or other vehicles that could be targets of arson, Agence France-Presse reported. The sale of gasoline in small quantities has also been banned in several parts of the country over the weekend. A national state of emergency, imposed to quell last month's unrest, remains in effect and allows some local governments to order curfews and gives police wider powers in banning gatherings and detaining people who are suspected planning criminal acts. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> AIDS in India: A "lurking bomb." Click and help stop AIDS now. http://us.click.yahoo.com/X6CDDD/lzNLAA/cUmLAA/TySplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? 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