"In the 12th night of unrest, rioters in the southern city of Toulouse ordered passengers off a bus and then set it on fire and pelted police with gasoline bombs and rocks overnight Monday-Tuesday."
The French Cabinet has authorized curfews.
Be careful if you are going to France anywhere.

"State of emergency"

"Be careful if you are going to France anywhere"

Such blancket statements are irresponsible.

Agreed-and let me add, that is not only an irresponsible, but an overly alarmist and IDIOTIC post heading, totally without foundation!

I'm getting tired of seeing this. Quit exaggerating this internal unrest (which nearly every major western nation with large immigrant populations has gone through in some form or fashion, or will go through eventually) into something that affects tourists-because the unrest in France is NOT directed at tourists-if you stay out of the affected suburbs and areas where the unrest is going on (which as a tourist you would not be in these areas anyway) you'll be just fine.

Curfew - from old French "cover fire."

I always enjoyed knowing the history of that word, which for some reason my father taught to me long before I ever studied French. I guess I had odd interests as a child, because I loved word origins stories.

Back to the news...here's how it's being reported by LeMonde: http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,...-704172,0.html

1992 LA race riots - 53 dead, 2000 injured, $1 Billion in destruction, violence spread to many other US cities.
3,600 fires set, 1,100 buildings destroyed, About 10,000 people arrested.

1967 newark race riot, 23 dead, 725 injured, 1500 arrested, $10 million damages.

Detroit 1967 - 43 dead, 1,189 injured, 7,000 arrested, and more than 1,400 buildings burned. $22 million in damages.

Chicago 1919 - race riot- 38 dead, 537 injured and 1000 left homeless.

1921 Tulsa race riot - 300 dead 1,256 homes destroyed

1969 - race riot KL, malaysia - 184 dead

1964 Watts- 34 people dead, 1,100 people injured, 4,000 people arrested, $100 million in damages.

let's keep this in perspective. unfortunately this is not the first race riot nor will it be the last. of course this anything can happen and noone knows but talk of civil war is a little premature i think.

From today's NY Times:

"Indeed, for all the televised images of burning cars and chaotic streets, central Paris and even its suburbs show no obvious signs of crisis. The highway to Charles de Gaulle Airport, which passes by some of the hardest-hit suburbs, was flowing normally on Monday, with no visible police presence."

Is it really irresponsible? - - using a message header which is more or less identical to the headline over this story running on Yahoo news

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051108/...france_rioting

<b>State of Emergency Declared in France</b>

&quot;By JAMEY KEATEN, Associated Press Writer
17 minutes ago

PARIS - President Jacques Chirac declared a state of emergency Tuesday, paving the way for curfews to be imposed on riot-hit cities and towns in an extraordinary measure to halt France's worst civil unrest in decades after 12 nights of violence. &quot;

Prefer CNN.com perhaps?

<b>France extends anti-riot powers</b>

Tuesday, November 8, 2005; Posted: 8:10 a.m. EST (13:10 GMT)

France (CNN) -- The French Cabinet has approved emergency measures giving police more powers and allowing local officials to impose curfews in communities at risk of rioting after the nation endured a 12th night of unrest.

=================

Or from bbc.co.uk - -

<b>New powers to tackle French riots </b>

The French Government has authorised a range of emergency powers in an effort to combat riots that have broken out across France for 12 straight nights.

The move, announced by interior minister Nicolas Sarkozy, allows local authorities to impose curfews and lets police perform raids without warrants.

========================

Different flavors to the same story, by different reports, it seems...

Best wishes,

Rex

And what about the bird flu. we should all just stay home with the duct tape that way we will all be safe

Not alarmist or idiotic at all. You do need to be careful if you are going to France.

Doubtful? Ask the old lady who was burned or the retired fella who was beaten to death about being at the wrong place at the wrong time.

The property damage is also huge at his point. Aside from the buildings, over 10,000 cars burned - that is a whole lot of euros however you do the math.

It is going to take much more than fancy words and duct tape to fix this awful mess.

walkinaround, you forgot Chicago- more than a few times too.

The one I experienced was in 1968. And that was about much more than race or poverty- as well. There is still a portion of Chicago's West side that has never fully recovered and is mostly empty lot/rubble. We lost a butcher shop and a small restaurant. Many lost their lives. And I have memories of murder that I will never forget. You just don't want to witness this.

And this is happening in more than just a couple areas right now with the French police having a difficult job controlling authority. And the aftermath is no fun either.

It is not irresponsible to caution people who have travel plans.

During those times of crisis and rioting an entire city reflects it, let me tell you, regardless if the activity is 1 block or 4 miles away.

Alarmist? I think not. Words such as alarmist come from those who wish to cover for the problems the French government has created, and their EXTREMELY POOR respons to such rioting!!!!!!
They HAVE declared a state of emergency and invoked laws that haven't been used for 50 years!! I'd say they're worried and in a panic. Yet we have people saying someone is ALARMIST! I think some need to get into the real world. As a result of them allowing this to continue for 12-13 days, it stands a realy chance of spreading to other countries. There have been incidents in Belgium and Germany already.
The talk of civil war is NEVER premature. Napoleon said it best, &quot;No country is ever more than three meals away from revolution!&quot;

I think a fear is that the riots have the possibility of spreading to Paris. I saw an interview with a couple of shop keepers in Paris and they were concerned that tourism could drop because of the news about the riots, however, at this point, it seems that Paris is OK. I was watching the news this morning and a couple of Americans that are in Paris right now, said that all seemed fine in the city at this point.

&quot;Be careful if you are going to France anywhere&quot;

Such blancket statements are irresponsible.&quot;


Huh? Are you suggesting that one SHOULDN'T be careful if going to France particularly with what's going on? Now that's what I call an irresponsible idea!!!

Concerning Rex's comments :

The French governement has done is reviving a 1955 law declaring a &quot;state of emergency&quot; in what was then French Algeria.

According to this law,the prefects (local representatives of the state) can implement a number of measures, among which authorising curfews (techically decided by mayors) in specifically designated towns or neighbourhoods. In particular, according to this law, the police can carry out home searches without prior judicial clearance.After twelve days, any extension of these exceptional measures has to be approved by a specific law.

There's a lot of denial in this forum concerning current events. I love France, but I'd rather not be there at the moment.

To Patrick :

I tried to explain what this curfew thing is about in my post above. But I admit that it less sensational then the headlines on &quot;Paris riots&quot; and a &quot;state of emergency&quot; being declared in France.

I am an ordinary French citizen, living in Paris and commuting every day, by public transport, and without problem, to my office in the near suburbs (and I have no interest in any tourism-dependent business!). I can move around freely. No temporary dictatorship has been imposed on the country so far.

There are no riots in the city of Paris, and certainly not in the very gentrified areas where tourists usually stay. Unless you are a minor living in some outlying housing estates, the curfews are unlikely to affect you.

For just this ONCE, could we assume that the original poster was honestly trying to help someone or inform them rather than assuming the worst of intentions?

Yes we could voyager.

As for the press ... they have certainly fanned the flames with their coverage. It doesn't seel if it doesn't shock.

Before we crow too much about the &quot;failure&quot; of France's approach to difference, we need to check closer to home for the results of our own [US] response to difference ...

One of my more philosophical ruminations is how our modern communication system [which we applauded as it was used to depose Milosevic] reveals that many of us have not moved beyond the primitive responses we thought we had passed beyond. The French truly thought that their effort to overcome difference was more just than our obesience to differences -- and perhaps it still is.

Maybe I just don't get it, but burning a bunch of cars (too me) does little to improve your plight. I guess they are drawing attention to the cause, but one would think that someone could channel this energy into a more productive demonstration. It is typically those that help themselves that get ahead in life, not those who wait for someone else to come along...