The Paris suburb of Villiers-le-Bel has been plagued for several days by riots and the violence has spread to other areas as well. The problem stems from an accident at an intersection in which a motorcycle (which authorities say was speeding) collided with a police car killing the two people on the smaller vehicle, both of whom were teenagers of North African descent.
Based on the pretext that this was no accident -- i.e., the policemen were waiting around for a motorcycle to run into -- the local "youths" (predominantly Arab and/or Muslim) began looting and setting fires. A day-care center was one of the targets. When police and fire fighters arrived, the youths fired at them with hunting rifles. The police union says that the violence is more intense than it was during the infamous 2005 riots due to the widespread use of firearms.
From American Thinker:
Rioting has broken out in Paris as a result of a traffic accident involving two Muslim youths whose moped struck a police cruiser, killing the boys.
Police insist they were not chasing the boys and that the incident was an accident.
And from AFP:Scores of police injured in new French riots
Youths battled police for a second night in Paris suburbs, burning down government buildings and injuring 64 police officers, who stepped up security in troubled towns on Tuesday.
The troubles in six towns north of the French capital -- which were also the scene of major unrest in 2005 -- were sparked by the deaths on Sunday of two teenagers whose motorbike collided with a police car in Villiers-le-Bel.
Police said that one of five officers who were in critical condition in the latest clashes had been shot
The last time "youths" rioted in 2005 Sarkosy was the Interior Minister. Now that he is President, it will be interesting to see how he handles this situation.
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