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Anger as French riots spread to rural Evreux
Sun Nov 6, 2005 12:41 PM ET

By Paul Carrel

EVREUX, France (Reuters) - If 50 cars and a shopping center can be set alight in a small town in rural Normandy, then perhaps nowhere in France is immune from a wave of rioting by disaffected young people.

The fact that residents say it was only a matter of time before Evreux experienced the violence that has engulfed the rundown suburbs of Paris for the past 10 nights, speaks volumes.

"This was to be expected," 49-year-old resident Francis Hurier said on Sunday, pointing to the charred remains of a pharmacy where the stench of smoke hung in the air hours after firefighters had put out the flames.

"There are no jobs. Jobs need to be found for the young people," said Hurier, who is himself unemployed. "The cops are also too aggressive."

As in Paris, it was a housing estate inhabited by immigrant families where angry youths used vandalism and violence to express their frustration with a society they feel excludes them from jobs and is too ready to treat them roughly.

It was the deaths of two youths electrocuted in a power sub-station as they fled police more than a week ago, which ignited the passions of ethnic minorities already incensed by racism, unemployment, police treatment and their marginal place in French society.

Some 50 cars were torched in Evreux overnight and the shopping center was damaged by fire when youths went on the rampage through a housing estate on the edge of town. Two schools and a local police station were also damaged.

Conservative Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin has promised to clamp down on the violence, which has spread from the Paris suburbs to other provincial towns around the country.

The opposition Socialists have criticized Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy's "zero tolerance" policy toward rioters, whom he has branded "scum". Sarkozy has responded by drafting in an extra 2,300 police.

"Sarkozy made a mistake by talking about 'scum'. That provoked people. This is the result," said Hurier, who has lived in Evreux since 1982. "These youngsters ... just want a job and respect."

RACISM, NO JOBS

Simmering anger mixed with a sense of resignation among the locals gathered outside a burned out block of shops in Evreux.

Local Socialist councilor Michel Champredon, who runs a local housing association, said unemployment and racism were the root causes of the trouble.

"There are poor job prospects for a big chunk of the young population, especially those of immigrant origin. That creates a sense of injustice which builds up and can then degenerate into violence."

Other people were less understanding.

"This is too much, stop! Stop, do something else, but not this, not violence," said one local woman in tears.

"My wife's out of a job now," said another visibly angry resident. "I've got two kids, a house to pay for and a car loan. What do I do now?"

Jean-Louis Debre, the city's mayor and speaker of the French parliament, echoed the government's tough line.

"A hundred people have smashed everything and strewn desolation. Well, they don't form part of our universe," he said.

Champredon said the marginalisation of immigrant youths only fed the tension that led to the violence.

"There is a lot of discrimination when it comes to job recruitment," he said.

Local youngsters expected more violence on the outskirts of Evreux.

"It's civil war now," said one in a hooded top.

© Reuters 2005. All rights reserved.