French Unrest Sends Shockwaves Across Europe

Hundreds of Muslim and non-Muslim immigrants took to the streets of Amsterdam on Monday, November7 , to protest their deteriorating living conditions.

The protestors called on the Dutch government to change its policy towards immigrants, both legal or illegal.

The French government declared Tuesday a state of emergency in riot-hit parts in order to combat the worst outbreak of urban unrest since the May 1968 student revolt.

Nearly two weeks of rioting in the country's high-immigration suburbs has left more than6 , 000cars burned, public and private property destroyed, tens of policemen injured and one civilian death.

The deaths 10 days ago of two youths fleeing police ignited pent up frustrations among young men, many of them of North and black African origin, at racism, unemployment, their marginal place in French society and their treatment by the police.

High Alert

Security agencies across Belgium have been placed on high alert after Molotov cocktail were thrown Monday at two police cars in a Brussels district.

Also Monday, a police car in downtown Brussels was also put afire.

In another Brussels suburb, policemen exchanged fire with immigrants after security men tried to force a young immigrant to wash a car he had urinated.

Police forces were unusually heavily deployed in Brussels and high-immigration suburbs as a precautionary measure.

Many policemen have cancelled their weekly vacations and reported to their stations in anticipation of any emergencies.

Belgians fear a potential spillover of the French unrest into their country.

Yet, a provincial interior minister ruled out a repeat of the French scenario in Belgium, arguing that living standards were far better than those in France.

He advised the French to provide career opportunities for the young immigrants to bring riots to a peaceful end and achieve integration.

Wake-up

Many politicians and observers across Europe warned that the French unrest was a wakeup call for their own countries.

"France is not alone", Trevor Phillips, head of Britain's Commission for Racial Equality, wrote in The Observer newspaper.

"Everywhere, smugness about the state of race relations is being punctured," he said.

"Our French neighbors are giving us the loudest alarm call they can. Wake up, everybody."

Italy's main opposition leader Romano Prodi warned over the weekend that an explosion of urban violence in Italy was "only a matter of time" as "we have the worst suburbs in Europe."

Prodi, a former European Commission president, said: "Our suburbs are a human tragedy, and if we don't take serious action on social and housing issues we will have many scenes like Paris."

Bremen-based sociologist Lorenz Boellinger fears violence could flare up quickly in Germany.

"There is already an explosive mix which could lead to riots," he told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Boellinger called on German authorities to provide more help for immigrant families by giving them advice on life in Germany and setting up youth centers and youth clubs in immigrant areas.

Late Sunday, five cars were set ablaze in Berlin and six in the western city of Bremen.

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