November 12, 2005
HOW EAGERLY THEY EMBRACE MARTIAL LAW:
Paris bans rallies to avert riots (BBC, 11/12/05)
A ban on all public meetings likely to provoke disturbances has come into effect in the French capital.The move - imposed under new emergency measures - started at 0900 GMT and will remain in force until Sunday morning.
Police say the ban was introduced after calls for "violent acts" in Paris were found in e-mails and text messages. [...]
The government has declared a state of emergency in Paris and more than 30 other areas to help quell the unrest, in some areas using curfews to ban youths from the streets at night. [...]
Mr Chirac defended his use of state-of-emergency legislation, and said the priority was still to restore order.
Posted by Orrin Judd at November 12, 2005 10:03 AM
Turn off the cellphone towers in the areas around Paris at sunset and don't turm them back on until about 3 in the morning. It might tick off people trying to call home from the city's airports at night, but you'd solve the problem of the rioters being able to organize their tactics on the fly via phone calls and text messaging.
Posted by: John at November 12, 2005 10:46 AMuhm, ever hear of wi-fi ? you would have to shut down all telecommunications to block their ability to organize. and then what do you have ? certainly not victory. no, the ethnically french either meet the problem head-on or they leave.
Posted by: marconis toe at November 12, 2005 11:30 AMThe priority was still to restore order.
Euw, non, monsieur. The priority is to see Sarkozy's political future drawn and quartered.
And if France has to burn to achieve it, then for Chirac and his cohorts, it's a small price to pay.
Posted by: Barry Meislin at November 13, 2005 2:51 AM