Chirac: Fighting urban violence is priority

French President Jacques Chirac said today that ending the country’s rioting and arson was his priority, but acknowledged that discrimination and lack of equality are driving frustrations among the young people rebelling in largely immigrant suburbs.

Meanwhile, eight police officers were suspended after a young man was beaten in the troubled Paris suburban region where the unrest broke out two weeks ago.

Two were suspected of dealing “unwarranted blows” to the man questioned on Monday in La Courneuve, while the other six were alleged witnesses, the Interior Ministry said.

The victim had superficial cuts on the face and foot.

The unrest – France’s worst since 1968 student-worker protests – showed signs of abating after the country put state of emergency measures into effect.

National Police Chief Michel Gaudin noted what he called a “very sharp drop” in acts of violence on the 14th consecutive night of unrest, with 482 vehicles burned – down from 617 the night before. A municipal police officer and a firefighter were injured.

Chirac said that once order is restored, France will have to “draw he consequences of this crisis and do so with a lot of courage and lucidity”.

The violence started among youths in the north-eastern suburban Paris region of Seine-Saint-Denis angry over the accidental deaths of two teenagers, but grew into a nationwide insurrection of arson and clashes with police.

The crisis has led to national soul-searching about France’s failure to integrate its African and Muslim minorities. Anger among the French-born children of immigrants from France’s former colonies has fanned the riots.

“Whatever our origins, we are all the children of the republic, and we can all expect the same rights,” Chirac said, making his second public comment on the rioting since it broke out on October 27.

“Everyone has a right to respect and equal opportunities.

“There is an undeniable problem faced by many residents of underprivileged neighbourhoods around our cities,” Chirac said, laying out the government’s efforts to renovate housing projects and fight discrimination.

The problem “can be analysed in simple terms, which are equal opportunities and respect for the individual”, he said at a news conference with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero.

In Chirac’s last public comments on the rioting, he did not specifically address the problems of the suburbs.

The president, who has faced criticism for remaining largely silent, said his priority was still “restoring public order and respect of the law”.

He also defended his use of the state-of-emergency legislation, saying he had “given the security forces the measures they need”.

Some cities, including the Riviera resorts of Cannes and Nice, have imposed curfews on minors.

In Paris, where youths have used internet sites and text messages to set up meetings and call for violent actions, the sale of petrol in cans was banned, police headquarters said.

The government yesterday toughened its stance against rioters. Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy said local authorities have been told to deport foreigners convicted of involvement.

The president of the anti-racism group SOS-Racisme said it had filed a complaint about the measure to the Council of State, France’s highest administrative body.

The group said it considers Sarkozy’s measure as a mass deportation, while French law requires that each expulsion be studied on a case-by-case basis.

“Nicolas Sarkozy’s proposal is illegal,” organisation president Dominiqe Sopo said. The body has 48 hours to respond.

The nationwide peak in car burnings – a barometer of the unrest – was Sunday-Monday, with 1,408.

The number of incidents has dropped every night since. Firefighters responded to 1,340 calls overnight Wednesday-Thursday, down 37% from the previous night, officials said.

With France headed into a long holiday weekend, police said they will remain highly mobilised.

Friday is Armistice Day, marking the end of the First World War.

Police said the unrest now appeared to be concentrated in certain cities, including Toulouse, Lille, Lyon, Strasbourg and Marseille. Authorities took 203 people into custody overnight, police officials said.

In neighbouring Belgium, car burnings continued for a fifth night, with 15 vehicles torched, but the government stressed that attacks were isolated.

A 12-day state of emergency went into effect yesterday, giving police sweeping powers. But the vast majority of regional governments have not seen a need to use them. Some said the situation seemed to be improving.

The decree paved the way for possible curfews in Paris, its suburbs and more than 30 other cities and towns if officials feel they are needed. By this morning, only five regions imposed them in just a few towns or, in one case, to one specific neighbourhood. Paris had no curfews.