Apparently the A-plan to quell French racism and anti-Semitism by sending students to the movies has proved, well, woefully lame.

The number of racist and anti-Jewish acts in France is rising sharply, with more recorded so far this year than for all of 2003, the government announced Friday.

According to interior ministry statistics reported in Le Figaro newspaper, 95 physical acts and 161 threats of a racist nature have been recorded in the first half of 2004.

There were 135 physical acts and 375 threats of an anti-Jewish nature.

Jack did what politicians of failed policies everywhere do, he put on a little show and talked his way around it:

In a skilful piece of media management, the backdrop of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon was chosen to remind the country of France's shameful record on anti-Semitism, while simultaneously evoking the memory of the few thousand villagers who resisted the climate of hatred.

"Discrimination, anti-Semitism, racism - all kinds of racism are spreading insidiously," Mr Chirac said. ...Mr Chirac called for urgent action to stem a rise in the "despicable and odious acts of hatred soiling our nation".
The setting for this keynote speech was selected to add greater resonance to the president's words.

Mr Chirac was accompanied by the former cabinet minister Simone Veil, an Auschwitz survivor.

Some in the French media have a less charitable take on Jack's hand-wringing in the province:

The timing of Mr Chirac's longest speech on internal affairs in recent months was met with cynicism by some commentators, who argued that the president had seized on an uncontentious [sic] and popular theme as part of his latest attempt to boost his crumbling popularity.

One recent poll showed that his rating had dropped 20 percentage points in 15 months - down from 65% last April (when it peaked after his opposition to the war in Iraq) to 45% in June.

"This has been Chirac's strategy for the past nine years," Le Parisien wrote yesterday. "Whenever his popularity drops, he tries to stop the decline with a sudden trip to the provinces."

Then this:

In a further indication of the government's determination to be seen to be taking action, the interior minister, Dominique de Villepin, said earlier this week that "anti- semitic and racist acts are on the increase" and that the situation had become very serious. He promised that there would be heavy penalties in the event of future attacks.

Glad to see Dom noticed. We wonder how French anti-Semitism escaped official notice prior to this? Oh, but it didn't, February 16, 2004:

But French leaders reject suggestions from leading Israelis that anti-Semitic attacks are on the rise in France.

Mr Chirac told a news conference: "I repeated to [Israeli President Moshe Katsav] my determination without fail to fight all forms of racism and anti-Semitism.

"We are, and we will be, uncompromising on this question. That is why we do not accept groundless accusations [scil., anti-Semitic attacks are on the rise in France, huh?] that are sometimes made against us and which are an attack on France's honour."

Why does the above sound so familiar? Oh, November 17, 2003:

Seeking to reassure France's Jewish community, Chirac vowed "the greatest vigilance in the prevention, the greatest firmness in the pursuit, the greatest severity and the greatest swiftness in the sanctioning of anti-Semitic acts."

Chirac, speaking at a news conference, said a plan of action had been laid out that included extra security at Jewish places of worship and schools, "exemplary sanctions" against anyone found guilty of anti-Semitic acts and reinforced civics courses in French schools "to educate each child on the respect of others, on dialogue and tolerance."

Now what action is being taken? (Pause.) Apparently that's it. Venting the same old ineffectual threats to apply the same old ineffectual penalties to those they manage to catch. Here's one they slapped. Here's one they celebrated as a gifted talent. Hhmmm, seems a little shy of applying "the greatest severity and the greatest exemplarity" that Jack has called for.

Jack is big on huffing and puffing, short on results. So much for spiffing up France's honor.

[All emphases added.]

UPDATE 07.11.04:

A gang of young men attacked a woman riding a suburban train with her infant, cutting her hair and drawing swastikas on her stomach. Other passengers watched but did nothing, police reported. ... [The] gang of six set upon the 23-year-old woman...and grabbed her backpack where they found identity papers that showed an address in the capital's well-to-do 16th district. "There are only Jews in the 16th," one of the group of attackers said.

Chirac denounced Friday's "shameful act" and Interior Minister Dominique de Villepin ordered police to find the culprits "as quickly as possible."

Ouais, ouais, Jack.

UPDATE 07.14.04: The above 07.11.04 story is a hoax.

The woman's tale was headline news across Europe, but by yesterday it had taken a remarkable twist. ... The young woman confessed to having made it all up, authorities said.

The government yesterday justified its precipitate response. A spokesman, Jean-François Copé, said that for all the credibility problems with the story, "the reality is that there has been an explosion of racist and anti-semitic acts which we need to combat".

Members of France's Jewish community said the familiarity of the claim had triggered the outrage. Menahem Gourary, director of the Jewish Agency in Europe, said: "The government had to speak out quickly, because they so often in the past they've made the mistake of trying to calm the situation by not reacting at all. They responded like this because the story was eminently plausible." He cited eight incidents on Paris public transport over 10 months.

Pave regrets believing the worst about France in this instance. The story had been carried by all the major wire services, not that that's much surety for truth. We were suckered along with Le Monde and Le Figaro. However, we are happy to be wrong as France already has its hands full dealing with the real thing.

What could i say? i'm ashamed of what happened in the RER. i'm ashamed of what being French could now represent. in two days it will be our national day...

Just burn some American flags and vandalize some Jewish cemeteries goldsoundz and you will feel well again! You will feel very French in time for your holiday.

Seriously, how far has your country degenerated in that a train full of people wont even help a lady and her 13-month-old baby because they thought she was Jewish?
French cowardess over the last 100 years is the real reason the average American thinks little of France, not anything much to do with Iraq.
Nobody pulled the emergency alarm, nobody said a thing. Nobody called for help. Despicable!

Why are the French such spineless pussies?
Who stole your soul?

Out here in the barberic, uncultered world, citizens can request a CWP. My SW 59 with its 15 round clip would have solved the problem; the rest of the passengers could have simply returned to reading Le Monde.

Seriously, how far has your country degenerated in that a train full of people wont even help a lady and her 13-month-old baby because they thought she was Jewish?

Idiot. No one did shit because they were too scared (there is an investigation right now casting doubt on how many people were actually in the wagon, but let's assume). It's part of human nature. A shame, certainly.

Out here in the barberic, uncultered world, citizens can request a CWP. My SW 59 with its 15 round clip would have solved the problem

Yeah, you're a real fucking man, Rambo.

"Idiot. No one did shit because they were too scared (there is an investigation right now casting doubt on how many people were actually in the wagon, but let's assume). It's part of human nature. A shame, certainly."

So French people are just cowards?
It's fairly common in America for citizens to band together and go after thugs during a commission of a crime. Especially when the criminals are only armed with knives.
Us crazy Americans will even do it when the bad guys have guns as many of our citizens do too. It happens tens of thousands of times a year here. Sometimes a few of us get killed, but usually the criminals either are killed first or severely injured when they are apprehended by citizens. All Americans have "Citizens' Arrest" powers. Do the French people have that authority?
France should be a piece of cake when almost none of the criminals have guns.
Why don't the French do the same?

So French people are just cowards?

Oh I'm sure no such incident of people ignoring a crime in the making never, ever happens in the US. No, everyone there is a decorated hero and carries a loaded AK 47. You're watching too many movies.

Why don't the French do the same?

Perhaps we don't want to imitate your ridiculous level of handgun death toll, far superior to Western Europe, Canada and Japan combined. Not only you have more armed criminal but you seem to be more trigger-happy as well. btw, is everyone in the US armed?

This time i'm gonna defense the french people in that wagon.
If i would be in the same situation i will be very scared for one simple reason. Muslims enjoy of a crazy impunity, in Spain too, to do everything they want.
If i jump to defend that lady i wanna have the security i'm not wasting my time and physiscal safety. The problem is Police and justice don't do shit against them.
The muslims that attacked that lady should be kicked out from France right now. They don't deserve even to be in jail, just kick them out from Europe.
In Madrid, there are suburbs like Lavapies or Latina where muslims are always threatening people with knifes and stealing with total impunity. They are not human beings, they are rats, something we must eliminate from the face of the earth. After 11M they dissapeared for a while, but now they are back raising in their criminal career. These youth are the worst of the worst. People are very scared cos we are the door of Europe to that bunch of lies and misery called Islam and the socialist goverment acts like if Marocco would be a friendly country, they wanna finance islam in schools with our taxes!!!!!
PSOE thinks if we surrender and we are nice with islam they will be nice with us, poor idiots.
In Spain no one have problems with southaericans, asians or even gypsies but we don't want muslims near of us. I swear to god they are the worst people ever, i've been recently robbed near Barcelona harbour by a par of muslims. I wish bouth of them died in their shity boatd in the coast of Andalusia.
MUSLIMS OUT OF EUROPE RIGHT NOW!!!!!

The muslims that attacked that lady should be kicked out from France right now. They don't deserve even to be in jail, just kick them out from Europe.

Victor: they are French. where do you suggest to send them?

They are not human beings, they are rats

ok so you suggest to gas them. you're pathetic.

No, everyone there is a decorated hero and carries a loaded AK 47

If the perpetrators thought that the odds were even kinda good that one of the passengers was someone like Paul, do you think they'd be as bold?

Perhaps we don't want to imitate your ridiculous level of handgun death toll, far superior to Western Europe, Canada and Japan combined.

Yes, much better to have those machete and bludgeon deaths instead.

btw, is everyone in the US armed?

Only in the rural areas - EVERYONE out there has guns. In small towns, gun ownership isn't nearly as high, but still kinda high, and ownership (legal, anyway) in urban areas isn't all that common. Rural areas are also where we have the lowest rate of gun-related deaths and injuries, as well as crime.

And Jimmy did have a good question - is there a power of citizen's arrest in France?

"They are not human beings, they are rats

ok so you suggest to gas them. you're pathetic."

i never said that, it's just a way of talking, of course they are human beings, but not really civilizated ones.

The muslims that attacked that lady should be kicked out from France right now. They don't deserve even to be in jail, just kick them out from Europe.

Victor: they are French. where do you suggest to send them?

The fact of being fench doesn't allow you to act like a barbarian. right now in France there's a problem of muslim fanatism. They must have a muslim country background. Put them on the first plane to Algeria or Marocco. It's no time for tolerance with this crab.
Most of the terrorist of the 11M in Madrid were common criminals from Marocco. If they would be kicked out the first time they made something perhaps right now 200 people will be alive. I just don't feel safed with a youth that is here just to take advantadge of the economic situation but hate our way of life. 55 % of all criminal acts in Barcelona are performed by muslims. I don't wanna live with them, i don't like their culture and they don't wanna integrate. I don't give a shit if i'm not politically correct, is what most of the spaniards think but are afraid to say.

@victor-
You are a true voice of reason within zeropa.
You see the filth around you and you call it like you see it, you call it out EXACTLY as it exists in reality.
Don't ever lose your focus, in time hopefully the "eu" will see more minds such as yourself speaking out. If not- all of the "eu" is in for a shit storm in the next decades, AND the "eu" is on it's own to deal with these threats.
Let's see wht the "eu" can DO for it's citizens WITHOUT any outside help for the first time in 100 damn long years.

You clearly were not watching closely, Rambo would not bother with a puny SW 59. Or I assume so as I have never seen any of Stallone's Rambo flicks. Rural citizens are typically well armed as we cannot count on very fast police response. Knowing this, vermin typically stay in the urban areas where it is far less common to encounter an armed citizen. A 9mm 59 has good stopping power but as backup there is always the trusty 12 gauge Mossberg :-)

In any case, it seems that there is some question about this young lady's version of reality. Tawana Brawley revisited? Stay tuned...

Doh. It was indeed a hoax. See the JTA at http://www.jta.org/brknews.asp?id=113899 which reported:

"A woman who claimed she and her baby were targeted in an anti-Semitic attack near Paris reportedly admitted it was a hoax.

Police investigating the July 9 incident, in which a woman claimed six youths scrawled swastikas on her stomach, sliced off her clothes and overturned her baby carriage on a train, had said Monday there were a number of contradictions in the woman’s account.

No witnesses came forward to corroborate her story of the attack, which allegedly occurred on a normally crowded mid-morning suburban train. Also, video surveillance cameras on the platform where the woman claimed her attackers left the train failed to identify the alleged perpetrators. According to police sources, the woman has a history of filing complaints, none of which has been pursued by investigators.

The attack was widely condemned in France, with demonstrations against anti-Semitism organized in Paris on Monday and others scheduled for later this week. In an unprecedented action, National Assembly Speaker Jean-Louis Debree suspended a parliamentary debate Monday so legislators could attend one of the rallies.

On Tuesday, after she was taken into police custody, the woman reportedly admitted faking the attack."

France still sucks though.

Just for the record, last time I was in Paris, 3 Arab youths tried to mug my girlfriend and I (I understand Arabic, not being racist or presumptuous). No one on the metro did anything. They weren't armed and tried to grab her gold necklace. She held on to it (it belonged to her grandmother) and I kicked the sh*t out of one of them. The other two ran off. No one in the metro did a damned thing. After the "assailants" took off, a woman got up angrily and berated the passengers screaming "C'est la faute des Francais!" - It's the fault of the French, and then she apologized to us. No one else said anything.

They weren't armed and tried to grab her gold necklace.

Just think if they had been armed... This kind of shit never happens in NYC or L.A?

They were skinny punk kids. I almost felt bad fighting back. My 5' 3", 100 pound girlfriend would have beat them up herself if she wasn't busy grabbing hold of her necklace. Had this happenned in NY or LA someone would have at least walked over and asked if we were ok afterwards. These people carried on as if nothing had happenned. It was kind of creepy actually...

This kind of shit never happens in NYC or L.A?

I think it does. That's why you should visit DC.
Never, ever, happens here.

Never, ever, happens here.

Because your city is so racially polarized perharps (much more than Paris)? I know a Moroccan woman who works there who tells me so.

Never, ever, happens here

Ah, zoomerdude, I was being sarcastic. Of course “sh*t” like that happens everywhere.

But you should still visit DC over NY or LA. Just because, well, we’re better! (regardless of what your friend says);-)

DC does have a wonderful Metro system. There are armed “undercover” police that ride the trains here. I saw one grab a punk who was running down the stairs with a woman’s bag, that he most likely grabbed.

I’ll see if I can find any crime figures for the DC Metro, but I’m going to say that it is pretty safe.

Zoomer, we miss you over on the 'France is an enemy' thread. When are you going to defend your honor, and the honor of La France? I think that you have been called out on a couple more lies.

As to this post. I think that it has been 'overtaken by events'. Last I heard, her name was Tawanna de Brawly.

FWIW, this "agression" in the RER never took place. The woman and her husband, when confronted with inaccuracies in their testimonial, finally confessed that they made up the whole story.

Interesting media-machine overheating, eh?

could it be that this woman is a PaveFrance reader, and she wanted to give us a juicy tid bit to comment on?

There is nothing more believable than the commonplace.