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Massive Police Raid in Suburban Paris Projects Nets 33 Rioters
Monday, February 18, 2008
VILLIERS-LE-BEL, France - More than 1,000 police raided housing projects
outside Paris in an early morning sweep Monday, detaining 33 people in a bid
to find rioters who led an outburst of violence here last year, a prosecutor
said.
Police were mobilized for raids in Villiers-le-Bel and in the neighboring
towns of Sarcelles, Gonesse and Arnouville as part of the investigation into
the November riots, according to police.
Marie-Therese de Givry, prosecutor of Pontoise, said a total of 33 people
were arrested, raising the number from some 20 cited earlier by police.
Most of those detained, aged 19 to 31, had been known to police, mainly for
previous violence, according to police.
In one raid, about 100 police officers surrounded one building in
Villiers-le-Bel across from a library and pre-school that were burned down
by rioters. It was not immediately clear whether there were arrests in that
building.
Violence erupted Nov. 25-26 in Villiers-le-Bel, populated largely by
families of immigrant backgrounds, after two teenage boys were killed in a
motorbike crash with a police car. Police and local officials said it was an
accident, but many residents were unconvinced.
The flare-up in Villiers-le-Bel stoked fears of broader unrest like the
three weeks of riots across the nation's neglected suburbs two years
earlier, in November 2005. Many of those rioters were Arab or black,
French-born children or grandchildren of immigrants from France's former
colonies who were frustrated by entrenched discrimination and isolation.
In Monday's raid, police were targeting about 40 people suspected of
attacking officers during last year's violence, a police official said on
condition of anonymity. The official was not authorized to speak to the
media. Two gang leaders in particular were targeted, according to police,
who said they organized the unrest, telling others where to stand or how to
attract police into poorly lit areas.
During the unrest, 130 officers were injured, including at least 10 when
rioters fired shotguns at them.
Prosecutors in the nearby city of Pontoise opened a judicial inquiry into
attempted homicide against the assailants. Investigators issued an appeal
for witnesses and promised monetary rewards for information leading to the
shooters.
Monday's raids comes after President Nicolas Sarkozy announced a sweeping
plan earlier this month to better integrate poor suburban youth and tackle
the racism they often face in the job market - and to better police their
neighborhoods.
Massive Police Raid in Suburban Paris Projects Nets 33 Rioters
Monday, February 18, 2008
VILLIERS-LE-BEL, France - More than 1,000 police raided housing projects
outside Paris in an early morning sweep Monday, detaining 33 people in a bid
to find rioters who led an outburst of violence here last year, a prosecutor
said.
Police were mobilized for raids in Villiers-le-Bel and in the neighboring
towns of Sarcelles, Gonesse and Arnouville as part of the investigation into
the November riots, according to police.
Marie-Therese de Givry, prosecutor of Pontoise, said a total of 33 people
were arrested, raising the number from some 20 cited earlier by police.
Most of those detained, aged 19 to 31, had been known to police, mainly for
previous violence, according to police.
In one raid, about 100 police officers surrounded one building in
Villiers-le-Bel across from a library and pre-school that were burned down
by rioters. It was not immediately clear whether there were arrests in that
building.
Violence erupted Nov. 25-26 in Villiers-le-Bel, populated largely by
families of immigrant backgrounds, after two teenage boys were killed in a
motorbike crash with a police car. Police and local officials said it was an
accident, but many residents were unconvinced.
The flare-up in Villiers-le-Bel stoked fears of broader unrest like the
three weeks of riots across the nation's neglected suburbs two years
earlier, in November 2005. Many of those rioters were Arab or black,
French-born children or grandchildren of immigrants from France's former
colonies who were frustrated by entrenched discrimination and isolation.
In Monday's raid, police were targeting about 40 people suspected of
attacking officers during last year's violence, a police official said on
condition of anonymity. The official was not authorized to speak to the
media. Two gang leaders in particular were targeted, according to police,
who said they organized the unrest, telling others where to stand or how to
attract police into poorly lit areas.
During the unrest, 130 officers were injured, including at least 10 when
rioters fired shotguns at them.
Prosecutors in the nearby city of Pontoise opened a judicial inquiry into
attempted homicide against the assailants. Investigators issued an appeal
for witnesses and promised monetary rewards for information leading to the
shooters.
Monday's raids comes after President Nicolas Sarkozy announced a sweeping
plan earlier this month to better integrate poor suburban youth and tackle
the racism they often face in the job market - and to better police their
neighborhoods.
