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France extending emergency order to Feb.
(AP)
Updated: 2005-11-14 21:05
France's worst unrest since the 1968 student-worker protests is forcing the
country to confront decades of simmering anger over racial discrimination,
crowded housing and unemployment.
In scattered attacks overnight Sunday-Monday, vandals in the southern city of
Toulouse rammed a car into a primary school before setting the building on fire.
In northern France, arsonists set fire to a sports center in the suburb of
Faches-Thumesnil and a school in the town of Halluin, the North regional
government said.
A gas canister exploded inside a burning garbage can in the Alpine city of
Grenoble, injuring two police officers, the national police said, adding that
three other officers were injured elsewhere.
From Sunday to Monday, 115 people were taken into custody, police said. Since
the beginning of the unrest, 2,767 people have been arrested.
Violence has decreased steadily since France declared a state of emergency
Wednesday. The measure, unless extended, is set to end Nov. 20.
Government spokesman Jean-Francois Cope said the bill approved by the Cabinet
on Monday would leave open the possibility of ending the emergency measures
before three months are up, if order is restored.
Officials already are turning their attention to helping riot-hit towns
recover: European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso proposed Sunday that
the European Union give $58 million to France, and said it could make up to
$1.17 billion available in longer-term support for suburban jobs and social
cohesion.
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