France was on alert yesterday for a possible upsurge of violence as the country headed into a long holiday weekend, two weeks after rioting broke out in a run-down suburb of the capital.
Exceptional security measures were introduced in the capital for yesterday's Armistice Day commemorations, taking place on the Champs-Elysees in presence of President Jacques Chirac, with some 2,200 police deployed for the event.
Some 12,000 security officers were to remain mobilized around the country for the long weekend, amid fears of an upswing of arson attacks.
Levels of violence in poor city suburbs remained stable overnight on Thursday, with 463 cars torched by rioters and 201 people arrested across the country, figures almost identical to the previous night, national police said.
There were few clashes between youth gangs and police, with the most serious incidents reported in the eastern city of Lyon, where police said eight officers were injured overnight.
France has been rocked by two weeks of car-burnings, arson attacks and rioting carried out mostly by young Arab and black residents of poor suburban high-rise estates, who complain of economic misery and racial discrimination.
The unrest has subsided considerably since the peak of the trouble Sunday, when more than 1,400 cars were set alight.
On Wednesday, a state of emergency was declared by the government and curfews were introduced in more than 30 towns and cities.
The weekend is seen as a key test of the government measures -- curfew powers for the worst-hit areas coupled with a package of social assistance for the run-down suburbs at the center of the riots.
Messages on Internet chatrooms and mobile phones have been calling for rioters to descend on the capital over the weekend, according to police, who arrested a fourth man on Thursday for inciting violence on the Internet.
Just over the River Seine from the Armistice Day ceremonies on the Champs-Elysees avenue, a peace rally was to be held near the Eiffel Tower, called by several associations from the Paris suburbs.
Gasoline sales to minors have also been banned in several areas, including Paris, to make it harder for rioters to manufacture Molotov cocktails.
CHAOS: Iranians took to the streets playing celebratory music after reports of Khamenei’s death on Saturday, while mourners also gathered in Tehran yesterday Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a major attack on Iran launched by Israel and the US, throwing the future of the Islamic republic into doubt and raising the risk of regional instability. Iranian state television and the state-run IRNA news agency announced the 86-year-old’s death early yesterday. US President Donald Trump said it gave Iranians their “greatest chance” to “take back” their country. The announcements came after a joint US and Israeli aerial bombardment that targeted Iranian military and governmental sites. Trump said the “heavy and pinpoint bombing” would continue through the week or as long
TRUST: The KMT said it respected the US’ timing and considerations, and hoped it would continue to honor its commitments to helping Taiwan bolster its defenses and deterrence US President Donald Trump is delaying a multibillion-dollar arms sale to Taiwan to ensure his visit to Beijing is successful, a New York Times report said. The weapons sales package has stalled in the US Department of State, the report said, citing US officials it did not identify. The White House has told agencies not to push forward ahead of Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), it said. The two last month held a phone call to discuss trade and geopolitical flashpoints ahead of the summit. Xi raised the Taiwan issue and urged the US to handle arms sales to
State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday said that it had confirmed on Saturday night with its liquefied natural gas (LNG) and crude oil suppliers that shipments are proceeding as scheduled and that domestic supplies remain unaffected. The CPC yesterday announced the gasoline and diesel prices will rise by NT$0.2 and NT$0.4 per liter, respectively, starting Monday, citing Middle East tensions and blizzards in the eastern United States. CPC also iterated it has been reducing the proportion of crude oil imports from the Middle East and diversifying its supply sources in the past few years in response to geopolitical risks, expanding
OTHER OPTIONS: Given possible US intervention and Taiwanese counterattacks, China might opt to blockade Taiwan or take its outlying islands instead of an all-out invasion A US think tank has urged Taiwan to adopt a “hellscape” strategy that would flood the Taiwan Strait with drones and other uncrewed systems to deter invasion by China. In its report, Hellscape for Taiwan, published on Thursday, the Center for a New American Security said Taipei’s asymmetric defense approach — often described as a “porcupine strategy” — needs to evolve to keep pace with the growing capabilities of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army. The “hellscape” strategy involves saturating the air and waters around Taiwan with thousands of drones and other platforms capable of striking invading forces from multiple domains at once. Long-range
RSS