
BERLIN: Images of French ghettos in flames are causing discomfort
across Europe and have raised fears the violence could spread across
borders.
London, Berlin, Amsterdam, Brussels and other cities with large
immigrant populations are on the lookout for any signs of copycats of
the urban violence that has engulfed Paris and other French cities,
destroying cars, shops and schools.
So far there have been only isolated reports of wanton violence beyond
France’s borders – five cars set on fire in Berlin on Sunday and six in
the western German city of Bremen. Leaders in Britain, Germany and
elsewhere point to unique circumstances in France that make it less
likely that they will face similar rioting. But there are nevertheless
potential powder kegs in countries with large foreign populations.
“Everybody’s concerned at what is happening,” British Prime Minister
Tony Blair said yesterday. “I send every support to the French
government and to the French people in dealing with the situation. You
should never be complacent about these things, although I think our
situation is in some ways different.” “The conditions in France are
different from what we have here,” said Wolfgang Schaeuble, designated
interior minister in the new German government.
“There is no way violence as intense as in France would hit Germany or
most other European countries,” Nadeem Elyas, chairman of the Central
Council of Muslims in Germany, said.
In Rome, opposition leader Romano Prodi was accused of inciting
violence for saying Italian cities might soon suffer the sort of
rioting afflicting France. He said the government needed to take urgent
action to improve life in Italy’s more deprived suburbs if it wanted to
stave off future trouble.
In the Netherlands, where almost 20 per cent of the population is of
foreign descent, the riots in France are also being closely monitored.
“We really don’t need to be afraid that the Netherlands or Europe will
be in flames within a few weeks,” Han Entzinger, professor of migration
and integration studies at Erasmus University in Rotterdam, told the
Algemeen Dagblad daily.
“In France there is an explosive mixture,” he added. “The apartment
blocks in the suburbs were put up for the newcomers. That is a big
difference to here. Our immigrants ended up in existing districts and
houses of much better quality.” – Reuters |