Renewed Violence in France

Posted on Oct 26, 2006

Authorities are scrambling to address a possible resurgence of violence after two buses were torched near Paris on Wednesday.  Last year’s civil unrest led to the destruction of some 9,000 vehicles in and around the city.

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BBC:

A police official in Nanterre said the bus was attacked on Wednesday by a gang of youths armed with a flammable liquid.

“There were at least 10 passengers on board, who only just had enough time to get out. Thankfully there was nobody with any handicaps on board, or it could have ended badly,” he told the AFP news agency.

Separately, bus routes in the Essonne area, south of Paris, were suspended because of fears of attack.

Law and order have become major issues with presidential elections due next year.

Candidates from the two biggest parties have promised a tough approach to crime.

But according to the BBC’s James Read, there has been less discussion of youth unemployment, social alienation and racial discrimination in impoverished suburban estates.

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