Rioters getting organised
PARIS: French authorities yesterday stepped up police action against youths responsible for more than a week of urban riots as suspicions grew that the gangs were becoming increasingly organised. Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy called a meeting of police chiefs to discuss tactics as they braced for another night of violence that has so far defied all efforts to stamp it out. In a sign of the government’s resolve, police said more than 250 people were arrested during Friday night alone – doubling at once the number of detentions recorded since the troubles first erupted on October 27. Nearly 900 vehicles were torched that same night, making it the worst in terms of the arson attacks that have come to characterise the rampages. Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin held a crisis meeting with Sarkozy and other key ministers Saturday, as the rioting dominated world headlines and prompted the United States and Russia to warn its citizens against travelling through Paris suburbs. Officials were “unanimous in their firmness” in seeking an end to the violence, Sarkozy said after the meeting. “The violence is not acceptable,” he told journalists. Paris prosecutor general Yves Bot told Europe 1 radio yesterday there was “organised violence,” but did not say by whom. “If I could give an exact answer, those people would already be under arrest,” he said. “But we can see organised actions, a strategy.” Youths have been seen relaying police movements by mobile telephone, and have started Internet weblogs urging other parts of France to join the unrest. – afp Last update on: 6-11-2005
Article from: Bahrain Tribune Newspaper- www.BahrainTribune.com