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In Clichy-sous-Bois, a poor suburb of Paris, rioting has taken place for five consecutive nights so far. The rioting began on the night of Thursday, October 27, 2005. A Paris police union spokesman stated that Clichy-sous-Bois was seeing a "civil war."
Cause of riots
The riot was sparked by the death of two teenagers of Muslim African decent, identified as Ziad Benna, 17, and Bouna Traoré, 15. The youths died of electrocution after accidently touching a transformer in an electrical relay substation which they (and a 21 year old male who survived) climbed into while apparently fleeing police officers. . The local prosecutor, Francois Molins, said that the two teenagers thought they were being chased by police, but authorities said that the police were chasing some other suspects after a reported break-in in the area. The French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy stated that the electrocuted teenagers had not been "physically pursued" by the police. Clichy-sous-Bois has a large Muslim community, mostly immigrants from Africa.
Events
The riot appears to have begun when friends of the electrocuted youths began to attack firefighters and police who had rushed to the electrical substation to rescue the boys. Later in the night, street gangs, mostly consisting of hundreds of youth, threw rocks and Molotov cocktails at police forces and firefighters, and set cars and buildings on fire. Shots were reportedly fired at police. Police responded by firing tear gas at the rioters. About 27 people have been detained. 23 police officers and 1 journalist have been wounded. The number of rioters injured is not known.
On Saturday, October 29, 500 people took part in a silent march through Clichy-sous-Bois, in memory of the electrocuted youths. Representatives of the Muslim community appealed for calm and dignity, at the procession.
On Sunday, October 30, a tear gernade was launched into a mosque - police did not take responsability for it but acknowledged that it was of the type used by the riot police. Speaking to 170 police officers at Seine-Saint-Denis prefecture in Bobigny (the local authority overseeing Clichy-sous-Bois), the French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy said, “I am, of course, available to the Imam of the Clichy mosque to let him have all the details in order to understand how and why a tear gas bomb was sent into this mosque.”
On Monday, October 31, it was reported that the rioting had spread to Seine-Saint-Denis. In nearby Montfermeil, the municipal police garage was set on fire. Michel Thooris, an official of police trade union Action Police CFTC, described the unrest as a "civil war" and called on the French army to intervene.
Criminal proceedings
- Friday, October 28 - Two 25 year-old and one 27 year-old male are sentenced to 8 months in prison, with 2 months' firm imprisonment for throwing projectiles at police officers.
- Monday, October 31 - Three men were sentenced to prison.
- 5 adults to appear in a court north of Paris, 3 teenagers to appear at a childrens' court.
Political and police action
In response to the Paris riots, the Interior Minister stated that urban violence should be countered by arming police forces with non-lethal weapons. After the fourth night of rioting, the Interior Minister declared a zero tolerance policy towards urban violence and announced that 17 companies of riot police and 7 mobile police brigades would be permanently stationed in violent neighbourhoods of Paris. In addition, undercover police officers will be sent to identify “gang leaders, drug traffickers and big shots.” M Sarkozy's tough approach was met with shock by left-wing politicians who called for a more orthodox approach with public funding for housing, education, and job creation.
During his visit to Clichy-sous-Bois, the Interior Minister was to meet with the famalies of the electrocuted youth but controversy errupted when a tear gas gernade was launched into a mosque and the families pulled out of the meeting. Siyakah Traoré, brother of electrocuted youth Bouna’s Traoré, said: "There is no way we’re going to see Sarkozy, who is incompetent. What happened in the mosque is really disrespectful.”
The BBC wrote that the riots illustrate that Muslims in the ghettos of Paris feel alienated due to French society's traditional values of assimilation and secularism and due to the rise of militant Islam.
Related events
The French Interior Minister, Nicolas Sarkozy, had recently reported in an interview with Le Monde that so far in 2005, 9000 police cars have been stoned and, each night, 20 to 40 cars are torched .
In October 2001, a synagogue in Clichy-sous-Bois was attacked with a Molotov cocktail. The same synagogue was attacked again in August 2002
External Links
- Youths Riot for a Second Night in Paris (ABC News)
- 25 photos
- Video