By Associated Press, Published: July 20 WASHINGTON POST
TRAPPES, France — About 250 people hurling projectiles clashed with police firing tear gas west of Paris, in apparent protest over enforcement of France’s ban on Islamic face veils. Five people were injured and six detained in the violence, authorities said Saturday.
The interior minister urged calm and dialogue, insisting on both the need for public order and respect for France’s Muslims. The incident in the town of Trappes on Friday night reflected sporadic tensions between police upholding France’s strict policies of secularism and those who accuse authorities of discriminating against France’s No. 2 religion.
A few garbage dumpsters in the area were torched and a bus shelter shattered in the Trappes unrest. Spent tear gas capsules lay on the road Saturday near the police station at the center of the violence.
A 14-year-old boy suffered a serious eye injury in the violence, from a projectile of unknown provenance, Prosecutor Vincent Lesclous told reporters. Four police officers were injured and six people were detained in the violence, said an official with the regional police administration.
We feel that the ban of burkas in France is a shame for a country whose slogan is ‘fraternite, egalite, liberte’. (brotherhood, equality, freedom). Every one should have the right to live as they think is right, as long as they do not harm others. And, yes, the demonstrations are wrong, if they harm people and property. Is this demonstration worth for a 14 year old to loose one eye?
@Rafiq A. Tschannen; Would it be a shame if I was walking on the beach in, say, Dubai and I openly kissed my girlfriend thus getting arrested and thrown in jail for violating their customs and laws? So many Muslims want it both ways. One must adhere to their laws and customs in Muslim countries, yet they insist their customs must be allowed in countries that choose not to sanction them. You say, “Every one should have the right to live as they think is right, as long as they do not harm others”. That is certainly not how it works in Muslim countries at all and is far more the case in western nations overall. Muslims do themselves no favors in the court of public opinion with behavior such as these riots. If anything, it makes many people ask why they would want such people – Muslims – amidst them and part of their community.
Robert Adams: I fully agree that such riots are totally counter-productive.