Monday, November 07, 2005
Sarko and the French Strategy of Tension
Sarko and the French Strategy of Tension
Sunday November 06th 2005, 4:58 pm ( Click for Complete Article)
Reading the news about the violence stretching from the Mediterranean to the German border, I can’t help but think something is rotten in Denmark—or rather France. It makes little sense for “Arab and African Muslim immigrants,” as described by the Associated Press, to burn down schools, nurseries, and shopping centers in their own neighborhoods, although of course likewise things happened in America (i.e., the Los Angeles riot and earlier civil unrest in urban America). However, the fact the French police tear gassed the Mosque de Bousquets during Laylat al-Qadr (the holiest night in Ramadan) as an act of provocation might have something to do with the subsequent violence. It also doesn’t help that the French police are headed up by one Nicolas Sarkozy, currently the French Interior Minister, who is more or less a racist, fascist, and neocon fellow traveler. Sarkozy has pledged to clean the Paris suburbs of “scum” and “riffraf” with a Kärcher (colloquially used as synonymous with a cleaning system using high-pressure water). It should also be noted Sarkozy covets the French presidency (next election to be held in 2007).
Sunday November 06th 2005, 4:58 pm ( Click for Complete Article)
Reading the news about the violence stretching from the Mediterranean to the German border, I can’t help but think something is rotten in Denmark—or rather France. It makes little sense for “Arab and African Muslim immigrants,” as described by the Associated Press, to burn down schools, nurseries, and shopping centers in their own neighborhoods, although of course likewise things happened in America (i.e., the Los Angeles riot and earlier civil unrest in urban America). However, the fact the French police tear gassed the Mosque de Bousquets during Laylat al-Qadr (the holiest night in Ramadan) as an act of provocation might have something to do with the subsequent violence. It also doesn’t help that the French police are headed up by one Nicolas Sarkozy, currently the French Interior Minister, who is more or less a racist, fascist, and neocon fellow traveler. Sarkozy has pledged to clean the Paris suburbs of “scum” and “riffraf” with a Kärcher (colloquially used as synonymous with a cleaning system using high-pressure water). It should also be noted Sarkozy covets the French presidency (next election to be held in 2007).
