President Jacques Chirac said yesterday that ending France's urban violence is still his priority, but also acknowledged problems with a lack of equality.
"Whatever our origins we are all the children of the Republic and we can all expect the same rights," he said, in just his second public comments since rioting began on Oct. 27 in predominantly immigrant suburbs of northeast Paris. "Everyone has a right to respect and equal opportunities."
Even though violence has abated in recent days, Chirac said his priority is still "restoring public order and respect of the law."
He defended his use of state-of-emergency legislation, saying he had "given the security forces the measures they need."
"I want to take this chance to pay homage to the professionalism and sangfroid of the Republic's security forces," he said, speaking at a news conference with visiting Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero.
The police had welcomed a drop in the number of cars burned overnight after state-of-emergency measures were introduced, but said that they would remain vigilant ahead of a long weekend.
National Police Chief Michel Gaudin noted a "very sharp drop" in acts of violence on the 14th straight night of unrest, with 482 vehicles burned -- down from 617 the night before.
While youths have been battling riot police with rocks and firebombs, yesterday "there were practically no clashes with police," Gaudin said.
The early epicenter of violence has calmed. The top official in the Seine-Saint-Denis suburb of northeast Paris reported that the situation was returning to normal, with 15 cars torched overnight, Gaudin said. Car-burnings are a fact of life in France's tough suburbs, and that is close to the nightly average in the region, even in quieter times.
In Belgium, car burnings continued for a fifth night, with 15 vehicles torched.
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