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| French PM Dominique de
Villepin(R),French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy(Middle) and
Housing Minister Jean Louis Borloo attend a meeting held in Paris, France
Nov. 3, 2005. (Xinhua/AFP) | PARIS, Nov. 4
(Xinhuanet) -- France has vowed to restore "order and justice" Thursday at the
release of an interim report on the electrocution deaths of two teenage boys,
the root cause of the week-long violence in Paris suburbs.
French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin told the
Senate on Thursday: "Order and justice will be the final word." The
republic"will not give in."
Calm seems to be returning after riots erupted in the
Paris suburbs Thursday and spread to several other departments ringing the
French capital.
In the low-income region of Seine-Saint-Denis
northeast of the capital, more than 1,000 police were witnessed in position to
tighten security early Friday after Villepin took the hardened stance.
For seven straight nights, hundreds of vehicles have
bore the brunt of flame of anger.
On Wednesday night alone, at least 315 cars went up
in flames in dozens of towns to the north, east, west and south of Paris, a fire
service spokesman said.
Many Parisians believe the troubles were triggered by
the deaths of two teenagers in Clichy-sous-Bois on Thursday. The boys were
electrocuted in a power substation where they hid to escape police officers who
they thought were chasing them. A third boy was injured but survived.
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(Xinhua/AFP) | Clichy-sous-Bois is in
the suburbs that ring France's big cities and home to immigrants often from
Muslim North Africa. Its soaring unemployment and alleged discrimination against
these immigrants have aroused great dissatisfaction.
While determined to restore order and justice,
Villepin acknowledged that people living in high-immigrant areas need security,
recognition, hope, respect and future, promising further help with the youths in
those areas in seeking jobs.
The government also presented its initial report on
an investigation into the deaths of the two teens, identified respectively as
Bouna Traore, 15, born in Mauritania, and Zyed Benna, 17, of Tunisian origin.
The report indicated the boys had known of the
dangers before hiding out in the power substation.
Citing the third young man who was badly injured,
Muttin Altun,17, of Turkish descent, it said the three in question were among
agroup of boys who had finished playing football and entered a building site.
The three fled when police arrived and then scrambled into the power substation
to hide.
The report came after families of the victims filed a
legal complaint Tuesday for "failure to assist a person in danger," a crime in
France.
"We want the truth to come out," Amor Benna, father of Zyed Benna, told reporters, adding that they "want to know if a mistake was made by security (police) or not." Enditem [1] [2] [3] [4] | 
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