>> Yes.... Isn't it something Mohammed Atta said?

Wasn't he and his cohorts pictured in Vegas drinking alcohol and fooling around with the showgirls?

Christina, here is the link to the msnbc story http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9891709/

> Is there a possibility that this civil unrest could spread not only throughout France, but also to adjacent countries?

Come to Bavaria, even though in my part of town muslims are almost the majority, civil unrest can only happen if you close beergardens too early or increase the beer price.

>> Yes.... Isn't it something Mohammed Atta said?

Wasn't he and his cohorts pictured in Vegas drinking alcohol and fooling around with the showgirls?<<

Yes, apparently poor thing tried to resist as long as he could but the temptation was too strong.

For those who can read French, here is a link to a French forum (mostly for girls) so you can have a look at what people (and not newspapers) think about all that mess. (some of them have boyfriends involved in car burnings..)
http://tinyurl.com/9xa9d
corinne

Maybe it's time for them to find new boyfriends; boys who torch cars are losers.

Anyway, it's interesting to see how people here (and just about everywhere else) are so quick to make mountains out of molehills.

I don't see any particular reason to feel unsafe in Paris. Stop believing the media; they are so far from reality these days that they should start putting fiction disclaimers on their stories, like Hollywood does.

Why do people assume youths involved in the rioting are Muslim? I have not read any newspaper articles or seen any television reports that would lead me to that conclusion. Please don't let you imaginations get the best of you.

Corinne, thank you for the fascinating link. When you say the posters are largely girls, what age range are you talking about? Very absorbing reading.

>Why do people assume youths involved in the rioting are Muslim?<

A. Some of the rioters have mentioned their religious beliefs

B. Some of the residents of the problem areas have said so.

I think the media have been very careful not to mention the religious background of the rioters.

((I))

This is what Le Figaro printed today:

Les voitures incendiées l'ont été notamment dans le IIIe arrondissement, près de la place de la République, ainsi que dans le XVIIe, selon la police.

Ces nouveaux chiffres portent à près de 3.500 le nombre de véhicules incendiés.


(So far 3,500 cars were burned)

Corinne, thanks for that link. Those are very raw and very intense discussions.

Anselm

Anslem, for those of us who can't translate it all, can you give us a feel of what their attitude is about the riots?

The attitudes on the message board linked by Corinne are varied. There is a post from a woman who is not Muslim who says her Muslim boyfriend burns cars. Many pages of discussion follow about the roles of Muslims in French society. Some people accuse the OP of being a self-hating Western European, the same way people accuse some on this board of being self-hating Americans.

There is another thread started in parody by someone saying "My boyfriend burns chickens". But he's forced to because he works at KFC.

There is an interesting thread with arguments about anti-Muslim sentiment in France. Many ponts of view represented.

Thanks, Nikki (F)

lol, goofed! Nikki, ((F))

"There is a post from a woman who is not Muslim who says her Muslim boyfriend burns cars."

I hope that girl has enough good sense and self-respect to drop that sorry loser boyfriend. This kind of BS will be stopped when good people take action, both large and small.

Yes, that viewpoint is expressed by many. And then there are those who say she is making it all up. Or that she isn't real herself.

Message boards all seem to have some things in common.

OK, I'll join the fray, but please understand that I have many more questions than firm opinions. Among them - How can anyone from the US be surprised by this when there is a HUGE market here for all things of the "gangsta" genre?
Having recently worked in shelters housing NO hurricane evacuees, I am acutely aware that we have our own versions of such underclass enclaves.
Acknowledging that I speak as an old fart, this all scares the crap out of me.

""Travelers could rely instead on airport buses or taxis to downtown Paris. Americans should avoid the affected areas.""

From CNN.co.uk. So rioters can spot an American at thirty paces away? I wouldn't go to Paris now unless you have business there. I fear that things will only get worse.

cigalechanta, sorry not to respond ... I was off to dinner. Nikki provided a great synopsis.

One thing to add: if we ever think people on Fodors are blunt, it's nothing compared to the forum that Corinne linked us to. Participants are pretty brutal to each other there.

Anselm