More French Fantasies

The Media’s Still In Denial…


The insanity continues in today’s Moscow Times:

PARIS -- A sharp drop in violence across France fueled police hopes on Sunday that curfews and other measures had curbed the country's worst wave of urban unrest since 1968, despite the first clash in a major city center.

Police fired tear gas to disperse angry youths in Lyon on the 17th successive night of unrest. But cars set ablaze across France were down by one-quarter from the previous night, and fears of a big surge in violence over the weekend proved unfounded.

The intensity of the unrest has dropped since the government adopted emergency measures including curfews last Tuesday to crack down on youths angered by unemployment, racism and a lack of opportunities in France's grim and impoverished suburbs.

"Things could calm down very, very quickly," national police service chief Michel Gaudin told reporters in Paris on Sunday. He said the number of cars set ablaze during the night had fallen to 374 from 502 the previous night, and the number burned in the greater Paris area was "almost normal." Some 212 people were detained in the latest unrest.

Well isn't that special. The number of burned autos in Paris was almost back to normal. According to other reports I've read, that's about 80 cars per night.

I guess that I’m happy if the French are happy, aren’t you?

Now where did I put my matches...