Britannia Radio

Blackout: Violence in France

From the desk of Tiberge on Sat, 2009-07-18 11:20

The French Interior Ministry has issued orders to the prefects not to communicate to the media the crime statistics for the nights of July 13-15. The cartoon at the top showsMarianne, the woman symbolizing the French Republic, watching the "official" weather report, “More sun tomorrow” it says, as it pours outside. Le Monde has a long article about the news blackout:

[...] Only the figures for the night of July 13-14 were published: "Some 500 vehicles" were burned, the worst ever recorded for the eve of the national holiday. Despite repeated requests to the Interior Ministry, and the DGPN [similar to the FBI], no figures were forthcoming for the night of July 14-15. These orders have been strictly applied. The different prefectures contacted by Le Monde refused to respond, citing "ministerial instructions." Regional news media reported the same problem. The dailyLa Provence issued an unofficial report that was much less favorable than 2008: 41 cars and a day-care center in Marseilles burned. […]

Other local papers describe the same problems. In Reims, the daily L'Union denounces the attitude of the authorities: "Yesterday morning, every journalist who came, even for the smallest piece of news, to the firemen, or gendarmes or police, heard the same answer: 'No fires'. In fact, the truth is quite different. Some of those we questioned admitted under their breath: 'We cannot say anything about the fires. We have received orders." In Lyons, the daily Le Progrès reports the same blackout: "Orders not to speak on the radio were given to firemen, gendarmes and police."

In previous years the radio network Europe 1 had systematically called the prefectures to verify the official counts. On January 1, 2008, the DGPN reported 372 burnt cars for New Year's Eve vs 746 reported by Europe 1. Finally the ministry of the interior admitted that there had been 878 fires. "Instructions" given to the prefectures henceforth forbid this type of verification.

Some bits of news have leaked through. Anarticle at the conservative blog François Desouche (based on a report in the newspaperLe Parisien) describes the use of firecrackers against the police, in the suburb of Tremblay-en-France, department of Seine-Saint-Denis. This was the second time in a few weeks that police on patrol were drawn to a group of youths. Masked by their clothing they threw firecrackers and rocks at the police.

Also, in the city of Evry, four or five large packs of firecrackers were stolen by a group of hooded individuals who broke into the fair grounds thanks to the inadequate number of guards. Agnès Moutet-Lamy, the spokesman for the Socialist mayor made light of the event: "That can always happen. There's nothing to worry about." However, Jean-Charles Béraud, an expert in pyrotechnics, stated that firecrackers "can become a monstrously dangerous weapon. A mortar can be propelled 120 meters and create an explosion 80 meters in diameter. It can kill someone. Even one large firecracker can rip apart a hand."

Using the daily La Provence as its source, another article at François Desouche relates the violence in Marseilles on the night of July 14: A fire ravaged 5 hectares close to residences.
Two helicopters pouring water on the fire and a fierce battle waged by the marine firemen were needed to bring the fire under control. A day-care center was partially burned. A row of cypress trees bordering a nursery school went up in smoke. One individual was arrested as he threw rockets on the marine firemen who had come to put out a trash can fire. Fires were set in the four corners of one neighborhood, while trash cans and cars burned in others, notably with the help of Molotov cocktails. While the firemen went on one call after the other, the police fell into what appears to be an ambush. Bullets were fired at them and diverse projectiles were thrown in their direction. One policeman was slightly injured by a rock. The anti-crime brigade arrested one individual in possession of a 22-caliber rifle.

 

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Paganini v. kappert

Submitted by KO on Sat, 2009-07-18 21:28.

Paganini's approach to the situation is 99% more likely than kappert's to exact a penalty from the malefactor for the breach of civil order and the crime against property. It is also an investment in the maintenance of civil order.

kappert's approach is consistent with the citizen's total delegation of self-defense, the defense of property, and the maintenance of civil order to paid employees of the government. kappert's approach is likely to leave the malefactor undeterred and unpunished and to pass the costs of the property destruction on to other policyholders. Although kappert's citizen has a right to demand that crimes be prevented and punished in return for his tax dollars, and to demand an insurance payment for the damage to his vehicle, his refusal to make more than a financial investment in civil order makes the disappearance of the civil order more likely.

The point is that, as a practical matter, responsibility for civil order is non-delegable.

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Contradiction

Submitted by atheling on Sat, 2009-07-18 20:26.

"The policeman shot him in the neck from close range. If you do that, you can be said to have homicidal intentions. As far as I know, the head is a vital organ." (Le Monde)

Well, kappert proves that wrong.

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Lille incidents

Submitted by kappert on Sat, 2009-07-18 19:45.

Sixteen cars were burnt and 70 young people arrested in the sprawling housing estates of Lille-Sud last Monday night after the shooting at point-blank range of Ryad Hamlaoui, 23. Police union leaders alleged yesterday that the violence in Lille on Monday - at the end of 24 hours of relative calm after the killing - was the work of politically motivated provocateurs from outside the area. The death of Mr Hamlaoui, who was unarmed and had never been in trouble with the police, follows a peaceful winter in the French banlieues. The public prosecutor for the Lille area, Claude Mathon, insisted that the murder investigation was justified by the facts. "The policeman shot him in the neck from close range. If you do that, you can be said to have homicidal intentions. As far as I know, the head is a vital organ." (Le Monde)

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Taqqiya

Submitted by Frank Lee on Sat, 2009-07-18 19:11.

Who knew the Muslims could learn a thing or two from the French about taqqiya?  When the elites and the culture at large politely turn a blind eye to strategic dishonesty from the government and other elites, you've sunk to a pre-Enlightenment level -- the level of the Arab world, in short.

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Paganini's guts

Submitted by kappert on Sat, 2009-07-18 17:30.

"if I saw someone burning my my car I would shoot his brains out" - well, other peolple with less guts than Paganini would inform their insurance company and, consequently, would not spent some years in prison for murder. But, please, go ahead Paganini!

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no guts no glory

Submitted by Paganini on Sat, 2009-07-18 11:45.

I can't understand this: if I saw someone burning my my car I would shoot his brains out. The real problem is not those 'youths' who can easely be expelled from the country, but the frenchmen themselves, they don't fight back, they just take it all in the face, proud of not being 'racist' probably, I don't know. Ofcourse the leaders of France reflect the majority of their their civilians: cowards.

I don't want to offend people, because I adore France and French culture, but I experience it on a daily basis: this cowardnes of people that don't fight back, they don't even get angry against politicians or police.

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Newsweek

Submitted by Thomas Landen on Sat, 2009-07-18 11:42.

What will Newsweek say?