Frankrig: Endnu et tilløb til borgerkrig

Frankrig ser igen en serie optøjer foranstaltet af indvandrere, som sådan ikke ulig de optøjer, der i 2005 førte til afbrændingen af 10.000 biler og 300 bygninger.


Denne gang er optøjerne dog betydeligt mere voldelige.

Some 120 police officers have been injured, four of them seriously after being hit by buckshot from hunting weapons, according to police figures. By comparison, 200 officers were injured in three weeks of rioting in 2005.

En af årsagerne er, at pøblen er betydeligt bedre bevæbnet med skydevåben denne gang:

Patrice Ribeiro of the Synergie police union said rioters this time included ''genuine urban guerrillas,'' saying the use of firearms -- hunting shotguns so far -- had added a dangerous dimension.

Police said 82 officers were injured Monday night, 10 of them by buckshot and pellets. Four were seriously wounded, the force said. Police unions said 30 officers were struck by buckshot.

Idag er optøjerne gået ind i deres fjerde døgn, og er allerede begyndt at sprede sig til andre byer - især Toulouse. I 2005 gik der syv dage med ulmende brande i Paris, før de bredte sig til resten af Frankrig:



I 2005 spredte optøjerne sig til Belgien og Tyskland. I Danmark havde vi ikke-relaterede afbrændinger i Århus.


Hvor langt kommer det denne gang?

OPDATERET:

Mens talsmændene for de franske myndigheder afviser, at optøjerne skulle have noget med religion at gøre er, er formanden for en af politiets fagforeninger ikke helt så sikker:

Michel Thoomis, the secretary general of the hardline Action Police trade union, has written to Mr Sarkozy warning of an "intifada" on the estates and demanding that officers be given armoured cars in the most dangerous areas.

He said yesterday: "We are in a state of civil war, orchestrated by radical Islamists. This is not a question of urban violence any more, it is an intifada, with stones and Molotov cocktails. You no longer see two or three youths confronting police, you see whole tower blocks emptying into the streets to set their 'comrades' free when they are arrested."

He added: "We need armoured vehicles and water cannon. They are the only things that can disperse crowds of hundreds of people who are trying to kill police and burn their vehicles."