December 27, 2005
TIME FOR A BIG OLE FRENCH FRY:
French ban petrol in cans amid fear of New Year riots (Colin Randall, 28/12/2005, Daily Telegraph)
Fears of a new outbreak of street violence in France have prompted many areas to ban the sale of petrol in cans.Setting fire to cars on New Year's Eve has become a tradition among lawless youths on estates with large immigrant populations in the Parisian suburbs and Strasbourg.
The wave of rioting that swept the country for three weeks from the end of October has led to widespread concern that troublemakers may try to stage a show of strength this weekend.
The bans affect most areas around Paris and several provincial cities that suffered during the earlier riots. Nicolas Sarkozy, the interior minister, insisted that November's state of emergency would not be lifted at New Year.
I've never actually gone out wilding, but give me a torch and a car and I bet I can find a ready supply of gasoline. Posted by Orrin Judd at December 27, 2005 9:53 PM
"French fry?" Is that the same thing as a "freedom fry?"
Posted by: Lou Gots at December 27, 2005 11:30 PMLeave it to you to blow yourself up cutting into a half-full tank of gas with a torch. ( You can weld a fuel tank if it's completely full, or if it's empty and purged with helium or nitrogen. Anything else is real bad juju. )
Posted by: joe shropshire at December 27, 2005 11:38 PMYou've never siphoned gas?
Posted by: oj at December 27, 2005 11:55 PMAh, pardon me. More sense than we're used to, I guess.
Posted by: joe shropshire at December 28, 2005 12:00 AMA couple of feet of garden hose, also known as the redneck's gas card.
WHAT IF THE OUTSIDE....
Posted by: oj at December 28, 2005 7:42 AMI suppose it is nice to see that immigrant youths in France celebrate the Christian New Year. Maybe within a few years the officials can get them to adopt another holiday traditions to mark the change of year and will have them getting roaring drunk and firing bullets straight up into the air.
Posted by: John at December 28, 2005 9:39 AM