IN THE NEWS - French Officials Act to End Two Weeks of Riots

IN THE NEWS - French Officials Act to End Two Weeks of Riots
By Jill Moss¹

Broadcast: Saturday, November 12, 2005

I'm Steve Ember with IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

Rioters in France have been attacking cars, businesses and public buildings for more than two weeks. French officials now say violence levels have begun to decrease.

The violence is the country's worst since a series of student protests in Paris in nineteen sixty-eight. Efforts to halt the protests led to a nationwide strike that threatened the French government.

 
Speaking about the rioters, French President Jacques Chirac said "The last word must be from the law."
The current unrest began last month after two young people were accidentally killed at an electric power station. They were apparently² hiding from police. The two were of North African ancestry³. Their deaths incited⁴ riots in communities with large African and Arab populations.

The violence intensified⁵ and spread from Paris to other parts of France on the eleventh night. Riots were reported in many areas, including Toulouse, Cannes, Nice, and Strasbourg -- the headquarters of the European Parliament. More than five thousand vehicles have been burned since the unrest began. One man beaten by rioters has died. Police have arrested more than two thousand people.

The French government has been criticized for reacting slowly to the violence. Ministers have held emergency meetings to discuss affected⁶ areas. On Sunday, President Jacques Chirac met with top security officials. Mister Chirac said that those involved in the violence must be punished. "The last word," he said, "must be from the law."

Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin has been working with leaders of poor communities to discuss their concerns. He has ordered extra police to help the officers already deployed⁷ in the affected areas. He also re-established a law permitting local governments to order curfews. The law has not been in effect since the Algerian war of independence more than forty years ago.

Other European countries are nervously⁸ watching the situation. They fear the riots could spread throughout the European Union. France has about five million Muslims. They represent about ten percent of the French population. Belgium, Britain, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain also have Muslim minority populations. These nations worry that criminals or militants⁹ may seek out angry young Arabs for acts of violence.

Many of the rioters in France are the children or grandchildren of North Africans who settled there in the nineteen fifties and nineteen sixties. They are angry about disputes with police, their treatment in French society and unemployment.

The national unemployment rate in France is about ten percent. Many of those without jobs are young Muslims. Anger over social and cultural policies may be fueling the riots. The terrorist attacks against the United States four years ago led to new laws in European countries. The French government has taken steps against suspected Islamic extremists. It also has banned Muslim head coverings and other religious objects from public schools.

IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English was written by Jill Moss. I'm Steve Ember.

1 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。

2 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

3 ancestry   

n.祖先，家世

参考例句：

• Their ancestry settled the land in 1856.他们的祖辈1856年在这块土地上定居下来。
• He is an American of French ancestry.他是法国血统的美国人。

4 incited   

刺激，激励，煽动( incite的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He incited people to rise up against the government. 他煽动人们起来反对政府。
• The captain's example incited the men to bravery. 船长的榜样激发了水手们的勇敢精神。

5 intensified   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
• The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

7 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

8 nervously   

adv.神情激动地，不安地

参考例句：

• He bit his lip nervously,trying not to cry.他紧张地咬着唇，努力忍着不哭出来。
• He paced nervously up and down on the platform.他在站台上情绪不安地走来走去。

9 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。