French riots rewarded with social programs

After nineteen days of nationwide rioting in France, President Jacques Chirac addressed the situation in a televised broadcast on Nov. 14. His address combined a firm message on law and order with a pledge to tackle the underlying problems of youth unemployment and racial discrimination. National emergency measures declared a week ago failed to extinguish the riots entirely. The French government is currently debating legislation for a three-month extension of its state of emergency, originally slated for a 12 day enforcement. The state of emergency authorizes curfews, house-to-house searches and bans on public gatherings. Almost 9,000 cars have been burned, 100 public buildings and another 100 companies destroyed or damaged, 125 police officers injured, 2,800 people arrested and 600 jailed in attacks carried out mainly by African and Arab youths from dilapidated housing projects. Chirac appealed directly to youths from the poor, high-immigration suburbs where the unrest has been concentrated, assuring them of their place in French society. "I wish to tell the children from these difficult neighborhoods, whatever their origins, that they are all sons and daughters of the republic," he said. The president vowed that all rioters would face justice and warned that parents who failed to keep their children under control should face punishment. But much of Chirac's 15-minute-speech focused on tackling unemployment and discrimination. "We can build nothing lasting if we allow racism, intolerance and abuse," Chirac said. "We can build nothing lasting unless we fight this poison for society that is discrimination." Chief among the measures he announced was the creation of a paid training and employment scheme for 50,000 youths, offering them opportunities in the armed forces, or within environmental, health and cultural associations. He also announced plans to improve access to the workplace for black and Arab youths, the children and grandchildren of immigrants from France's former African colonies, who complain of high unemployment and discrimination. The unrest began Oct. 27 after two children from immigrant families died accidentally in a high-voltage electricity facility in Clichy-sous-Bois, a poor district northeast of Paris. In the face of rumors that they were being chased by the police, angry youths went on the rampage. The rioting that followed was then fueled by comments by French minister for the interior Nicolas Sarkozy that immigrant youth living in such areas were "scum." The unrest spread rapidly to the whole of the country with over 300 cities reporting incidents of rioting against racism, poor job prospects and a sense of exclusion from French society. "We are just poor people, people whose dark skins and [Islamic or African] names make us despised by the French," said Mamadou Konate, 19, whose parents came from Mali, one of France's former African possessions. Though the French government and media have reported that the riots have been in decline since the curfews have been in effect, the unrest has continued: * Nov. 9 - 394 cars burned * Nov. 10 - 463 cars burned * Nov. 11 - 502 cars burned * Nov. 12 - 374 cars burned * Nov. 13 - 284 cars burned * Nov. 14 - 215 cars burned, as well as six buses in Saint Etienne On Nov. 13 police in the French city of Lyon used teargas to disperse youths throwing stones and attacking cars, the first rioting in a major city center. The incident occurred not long after a curfew for minors came into force in the city. Interior Minister Sarkozy blamed the Lyon violence on a "demonstration by anarchists" after eight officers were injured. According to reports, insurrectionary outbreaks in other cities–including Toulouse, Dunkirk, Amiens and Grenoble, remained intense. Konate denied that he participated in the violence, but said it was "the only way to get attention from the government. Now maybe there will be some new programs for us–some better education, some training, some jobs."