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November 22, 2005
France: After the Muslim Riots, The Rewards Of Anarchy
In a gesture probably meant to symbolise peace and goodwill, President Jacques Chirac will be meeting today with business and labour leaders, and also television executives, to discuss hiring young people from poor neighbourhoods and broadcasting programs which reflect France's racial diversity, states Associated Press.
Though apparently well-intentioned, the suggested moves could equally be perceived as rewarding the twenty days of violence and anarchy which affected 300 townships and communities across France. And the television programs are hardly going to be critical of the motives of those youths who attempted to destroy the culture which has supported them.
So the message now appears to be - burn your neighbourhood, burn your neighbours' cars, intimidate families, destroy schools and synagogues, attack businesses and have the fruits of your violence rewarded with promises of jobs.
Dominique de Villepin, France's Prime Minister, also addressed a meeting of job counselors in the Parisian suburb of Saint Denis yesterday. He said it was "unacceptable" for minorities to face discrimination but noted that France's economic outlook was improving and the rate of jobless was decreasing.
We mentioned that a mosque in Saint-Etienne had been spray-painted with slogans. In another incident from Sunday, two petrol-bombs damaged a mosque in the eastern town of Fougeres.
And while Villepin waxes lyrical about the economic situation improving, today, commuters across France were affected by a strike caused by members of four unions, which affected SNCF, the national rail network, states le Figaro. And just today, between 9 am and 1pm France's stocks and shares slid down from a value of 4.594 to 4.578.
Despite the bleatings of Villepin, the French consumers are being exceptionally cautious about where to spend, with Le Monde stating that French citizens are expected to spend less this Christmas, on account of the "moroseness of the economy".
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at November 22, 2005 7:16 AM
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