Riots hit North African community in Amiens

Police used tear gas and rubber bullets to quell the unrest that erupted late on Monday in Amiens' northern quarter and left 16 police officers injured, a primary school severely damaged by fire and a sports centre completely destroyed. The estates affected have an unemployment rate of 45 percent and the North African community on the estate regularly complains of racial discrimination. The burning cars and street protests bring back memories of the 2005 social unrest caused by perceived racism by the French police towards North African youths. "I have not come here to challenge a community or young people in general. I have come to say that here, law and justice must prevail," stated Interior Minister Manuel Valls. The local mayor described the unrest as the product of mounting social tension in an area where the rule of law had broken down. The clashes involving around 100 local youths and up to 150 police occurred in a deprived area of what is an otherwise prosperous city known for its university and 13th-century Gothic cathedral. As well as tear gas and rubber bullets, police deployed a helicopter to stop the unrest after suffering injuries caused by buckshot, fireworks and other projectiles thrown by rioters. The violence followed smaller-scale clashes 24 hours earlier which were triggered by the arrest of a man for dangerous driving. The arrest was seen as insensitive as it came as many residents of the neighbourhood were attending a wake for a local 20-year-old who had died in a motorbike accident. Gilles Demailly, the mayor of Amiens, told AFP the violent response to the incident reflected a descent into lawlessness orchestrated by ever younger troublemakers. "There have been regular incidents here but it has been years since we've known a night as violent as this with so much damage done," the mayor said. The French Interior Minister Manuel Valls was booed when he arrived in Amiens hours after riots there cast a shadow over President Francois Hollande's celebration of his first 100 days in power. Demailly, a member of Hollande's Socialist Party, added: "For months I've been asking for the means (to alleviate the neighbourhood's problems) because tension has been mounting here. "You've got gangs of youths playing at being gangsters who have turned the area into a no-go zone. You can no longer order a pizza or get a doctor to come to the house." Hollande's government has identified the northern quarter of Amiens as one of 15 "priority security zones" across the country which will be established from September. The emphasis will be on tougher policing rather than on schemes to alleviate the impact of record unemployment and falling real incomes for the poorest sections of society. Figures released Tuesday showed the French economy flat-lining in the second quarter of the year and most economists expect a further deterioration as Hollande's government cuts spending in most areas in order to reduce its budget deficit in line with eurozone requirements. Trade unions battling job cuts across French industry have already warned of a "hot autumn" of protest unless the government eases up on the austerity drive. But Hollande on Tuesday made it clear he regarded the unrest in Amiens as a primary problem of criminality and promised a tough response. "The state will mobilise all its means to combat these violent acts," Hollande said. "Security is not only a priority for us, it is an obligation." Jean-Francois Cope, secretary general of France's conservative opposition UMP party, however, condemned Hollande for failing to match words with actions on law and order. "For three months, Hollande has had responsibility and has given contradictory messages on the subject of law and order. We should unfortunately not be surprised by such violence," he said. Authorities said 100 police officers had been sent to the city as reinforcements to ensure there was no repeat of the violence.