“The Word ‘Riot’ Is A Bit Too Strong” For The French
Je Ne Sais Quoi?
Yesterday, French Ambassador to the U.S. Jean-David Levitte “suggested “the word ‘riot’ is a bit too strong” to describe the disturbances,” according to the AP, “and that while thousands of automobiles were destroyed and scores of police officers injured, there were only a handful of fatalities, in contrast to the 1992 Los Angeles riots that left 55 people dead and $1 billion in property damage.”
How do you pronounce “spin” in French? Or are we speaking in nuance?
The French have invoked those riots in the past, by way of criticizing U.S. policies. In 1992, then President Francois Mitterrand suggested that France would avoid such strife because of its generous social programs.
According to French logic, one might also suggest the way to reduce crime is by paying off the criminals. And sure looks like it’s working.
Explaining the situation in more euphemistic terms:
He said mostly teenagers had acted out of social and economic hardship. “It was not about the role of Islam in France,” he said.
“We never saw any link, direct or indirect,” the French diplomat said. “Religion played no role.”
However, Ambassador Levitte was delivering these remarks during a panel discussion about The French Riots: Disenfranchisement and Integration sponsored by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).
Levitte said that with job programs, scholarships and improved housing, the French government is engaged in trying to improve their living conditions.
Nihad Awad, executive director of CAIR, said the outbreak was a signal that discrimination has to be fought at all levels. He called on the French government to show the young Muslims that “society is with them, not against them.”
Sounds a little like President Bush. Only different. Who says appeasement doesn’t work?
Keep the white flags ready, France.
UPDATE:
Michelle Malkin notes, “France: Still Burning”
RELATED:
The Rap on France’s Riots
November 30th, 2005 at 8:28 pm
[...] RELATED: “The Word ‘Riot’ Is A Bit Too Strong†For The French [...]
December 13th, 2005 at 10:46 am
[...] [Editor’s note: If you find this post too sarcastic, you should read what some of the MSM is writing, like the S.F. Chronicle’s editorial today. Even the French are weighing in — but that’s really no surprise. Liberals (particularly in the press) are framing the story and acting as if MLK Jr. was put down, not a convicted mass murderer — who has sat on death row for 24 years while exhausting the legal appeals process. If only these activists would dedicate some attention to a real injustice, the story of Corey Maye] [...]
May 7th, 2007 at 3:21 pm
[...] Can’t sip champagne and smoke dainty little cigarettes if Muslims are rioting around you. Official figures released early on Monday said demonstrators set fire to 367 cars and injured 28 policemen across France, and 270 people were arrested in the violent protests against the tough-talking former interior minister. [...]
May 7th, 2007 at 3:38 pm
[...] Can’t sip champagne and smoke dainty little cigarettes if Muslims are rioting around you. Official figures released early on Monday said demonstrators set fire to 367 cars and injured 28 policemen across France, and 270 people were arrested in the violent protests against the tough-talking former interior minister. [...]