LAT/AP: French Violence Falls Sharply Overnight

[DeepModem Mom]

French Violence Falls Sharply Overnight
By JAMEY KEATEN, Associated Press Writer


PARIS -- Violence in France fell sharply overnight, the police chief said Thursday, one day after the government toughened its stance by imposing emergency measures and ordering deportations of foreigners involved in riots that have raged for two weeks.

In the past two nights, there was a notable decline in the number of car burnings -- a barometer of the intensity of the country's worst civil unrest in nearly four decades.

National Police Chief Michel Gaudin said there was a "very sharp drop" in violence overnight. While youths have been battling riot police with rocks and firebombs, "there were practically no clashes with police," he said.

The government ordered a 12-day state of emergency that went into effect on Wednesday in an effort to quell the rioting. And Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy said local authorities had been told to deport foreigners convicted so far for their roles.

A French anti-racism group, SOS-Racisme, called the measure illegal. The group's president said he had asked France's highest administrative body, the Council of State, to intervene....


http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wire/ats-ap_top11nov10,0,1820401.story

[yellowcanine]

1. "Decline in car burnings?" Some indicator. There are less cars to burn.

At some point the rioters begin to run out of targets.

[kurth]

2. They waited 11 days to impose a curfew?

Sounds like France's Katrina.

[pop goes the weasel]

3. what gets me

is that cities had to wait on the national government for permission to impose a curfew. Mayors in the US would be out in the street themselves if the feds took away the right of cities to manage their own order.