12 November 2005
Riots in France
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The riots that have rocked France for more than a fortnight are showing signs of abating after emergency measures were imposed on the worst-hit areas of the country.
On Tuesday Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin published a decree invoking a 50-year-old law that gave senior government officials the power to impose curfews. These have come into force in more than 30 French towns and cities.
With almost two weeks of rioting and over 1,500 arrests, France hasn't seen this kind of violence since the student uprising of 1968.
Out of all the chaos, one thing is certain, the reasons for such widespread violence across France is much more politically complex that the news headlines suggest.
Guests
Olivier Roy
Political Scientist, School for Advanced Studies in Social Sciences, Paris
Doug Ireland
Freelance political journalist, for Liberation, a French daily, and the Nation
Further Information
Get French or Die Trying
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/09/opinion/09roy.html
The Nation: Why is France Burning?
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20051128/ireland
