נשיא צרפת ז'אק שיראק הופיע אתמול בטלויזיה אחרי יותר משבועיים של אלימות בפרברי צרפת.
שיראק אמר שצריך להילחם באפליה, הנחשבת לגורם העיקרי מאחורי חוסר השקט, אך הם גם כן נחוש להשיב את הסדר על כנו.
(CBC) - French President Jacques Chirac made his first public television address more than two weeks after violence erupted in the suburbs of Paris.
Chirac said that discrimination, considered the main factor behind the unrest, should be fought, but he was also adamant about restoring order.
"These events bear witness to a deep malaise."
Chirac has been largely absent from the public eye as parts of Paris and other French cities burned through the night for 18 days, and thousands of cars and buildings were set on fire by young people, mostly Muslim.
Last week, Chirac made an admission of failure, saying the government has not acted quickly in tackling racial discrimination.
Chirac's keynote speech comes on the day French police confirmed there's a "lull" in the wave of violence that has swept the country. But the cabinet agreed to extend the state of emergency by three months. That means regional authorities can impose curfews on minors and search houses.
Last week, 1,400 cars were torched in one night.
The violence first broke out in Paris's poor suburbs where many immigrant families live in high-rise housing projects. The accidental electrocution deaths of two youths who thought police were after them sparked the rioting.
Police arrested 115 people Sunday and Monday, bringing to 2,767 the number arrested since the unrest began.
France is expected to begin deporting foreigners implicated in the violence within days - a measure being met with concerns from human rights groups and some members of the French government.
© the CBC, 2005
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15-11-2005, 07:18
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