Buses torched in new Paris unrest
Pastor Dale Morgan
Buses torched in new Paris unrest*
POSTED: 1822 GMT (0222 HKT), October 26, 2006
PARIS, France (AP) -- Youths forced passengers off three buses and set
them on fire in suburban Paris, in nighttime attacks ahead of the first
anniversary of riots in France's poor, heavily immigrant housing projects.
No injuries were reported, but worried bus drivers refused to enter some
areas after dark Thursday, and the prime minister urged a swift, stern
response.
Last year's riots raged through housing projects on the outskirts of
cities nationwide, springing in part from anger over entrenched
discrimination against immigrants and their French-born children, many
of them Muslims from former French colonies in Africa. Despite an influx
of funds and promises since then, disenchantment still thrives in those
communities.
Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, a leading contender for next year's
presidential elections whose hard-line stance has angered many in the
neighborhoods, promised to track down those who set the buses on fire.
"The people responsible should know that we are after them ... and they
will face severe punishment," he said at a news conference in
Stratford-upon-Avon, western England, where he was meeting with interior
ministers from five other European countries.
About 10 attackers -- five armed with handguns -- stormed a bus in
Montreuil, east of Paris, early Thursday and forced the passengers off,
the RATP transport authority said. They then drove off and set the bus
on fire. The bus driver was treated for shock, the RATP said.
The handguns were unusual -- last year's rioters were armed primarily
with crowbars, stones, sticks or gasoline bombs.
Late Wednesday, three attackers forced passengers off another bus in
Athis-Mons, south of Paris, and tossed a Molotov cocktail inside, police
officials said. The driver managed to put out the fire.
In yet another attack Wednesday night, between six and 10 youths herded
passengers off a bus in the western community of Nanterre and set it alight.
Sensitive neighborhoods
The attacks, and recent ambushes on police, have raised concern about
the changing character of the violence, which appears more premeditated
than last year's spontaneous outcry and no longer restricted to the
housing projects.
Regional authorities said the Nanterre bus line, which passes near
Paris' financial district, La Defense, was not considered a high-risk
area. Francois Saglier, director of bus service at the RATP, said the
attacks happened "without prior warning and not necessarily in
neighborhoods considered difficult."
The RATP was to meet Thursday with unions to determine which bus routes
would be changed or limited in response to the unrest. Unions demanded
that the RATP allow drivers to stop work in case of imminent danger.
"We will take measures that become necessary to avoid sensitive
neighborhoods," Saglier told reporters. The drivers feel "worry but at
the same time a great sense of responsibility," he said.
Sarkozy said he would meet with public transportation officials and
asked police to "mobilize all resources" to protect the transit system.
Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin urged a swift, stern response, but
also said France should "revitalize" troubled neighborhoods.
France's inability to better integrate minorities and recent violence
are becoming major political issues as the campaign heats up for next
year's presidential and parliamentary elections.
Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie, who is considering whether to run
in next year's presidential election, said Thursday that recent attacks
demonstrate "a desire to kill."
"Some individuals are looking for provocations, and sometimes go
further," she said on i-Tele television. She acknowledged people facing
unemployment and overcrowded housing "have trouble finding their place"
in society.
The three weeks of riots were sparked by the deaths on Oct. 27, 2005, of
two young boys of African descent, who were electrocuted in a power
substation in Clichy-sous-Bois, northeast of Paris, while hiding from
police.