Last week saw the first anniversary of the deaths of two Parisian teenagers, which sparked riots across the country lasting 21 nights, in which over 9000 cars burnt and nearly 3,000 people arrested, but it also marked the annual celebration of youth culture in one community of Bordeaux.On 27th October 2005 in the North-eastern Parisian suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois, two boys, Zyed Benna, 17, and Bouna Traore, 15, were electrocuted after climbing into an electrical sub-station - in what locals say was the result of an attempt to hide from police.
Two days beforehand on a visit to the Parisian suburb of Argenteuil to see how his new measures against urban violence were working, Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy had been pelted with stones and bottles, after having said that crime-ridden neighbourhoods should be "cleaned with a power hose" and described violent elements as "gangrene" and "rabble".
And so as the news of the two teenagers’ deaths spread, riots were triggered in the local area, which is home to large African and Arab communities.
On the 30th October 2005, Mr Sarkozy pledged there would be "zero tolerance" for the rioting and sent police reinforcements to Clichy-sous-Bois, where a tear gas grenade, like those used by riot police, exploded in a mosque, provoking further anger.
As the violence started to expand out from the capital, and thousands more vehicles burned with every night that passed, the French government put into force a series of emergency powers across more than 30 French towns and cities, including the Paris suburbs. In what was the first time the law had been implemented in mainland France since its introduction in 1955, the northern city of Amiens was the first to impose a curfew.
The police then as a result reported a drop in the level of violence across France as a whole, with the number of cars set alight falling to just over 600, hundreds fewer than the night before. Some 280 people were arrested and disturbances broke out in 116 areas, half the number affected the previous night.
However, violence still persisted in isolated patches with Bordeaux itself being one after a gas-powered bus exploded after it was hit by a petrol bomb in the cities’ suburbs.A year on, 2006, and the violence has reared its ugly head once again as thousands of riot police were redeployed back into the Clincy-sous-Bois suburb, where the original riots has started, and where more buses were burnt and at least 500 people marched in memory of the two teenage boys, both of whom were from immigrant families.
And in Marseille on Saturday (28th October), a 26-year-old Senegalise woman, Mama Galledou, was left with burns to nearly 70% of her body after a group of teenagers reportedly forced open the doors of a bus and threw an inflammable liquid inside before fleeing.
Elsewhere around the country, around 200 vehicles were set alight and nearly 50 people were arrested.
But despite the year anniversary of the violent attacks, in Pessac, a “commune” of Bordeaux, the community was not being set ablaze by fire, but by community spirit and the 9th annual youth festival celebrating all that encompasses youth culture.The “Urban Vibrations” festival takes place over a period of 11 days (25th October – 5th November) and is crammed full of events for youths and the rest of the community to partake in such as rap evenings, film and documentary screenings, break-dancing lessons and competitions, beat-boxing, art exhibitions, basketball and street ball competitions, Pro Evolution Soccer competitions and an array of other sporting contests and even a “turn-up and decorate the festival sites” graffiti evening.
One of the sporting contests taking place was a skateboarding competition, which carried a cash prize to the winner of 15,000 Euros (roughly £10,000).
Free to enter and with the only other obligation being that you wear a helmet, anyone was able to participate in the qualifications, and although they really tried their best, this reporter declined! The contest’s finale was very well supported and the standard of competition was surprising to say the least, but what struck me about the whole event was that it was for everyone – families, elderly people (ok maybe not the skate-boarding, BMX or roller-blading - but they were all there!).So while the recent bus attacks in Paris and Marseille have marked the anniversary and spread new fears of nationwide riots, in other parts of the country community relations are very much on a better foot. So much so I might go pick up a spray can and leave my mark on the wall in Pessac with the rest of the citizens!!!
Published on the sheffieldbase http://www.sheffieldbase.com/story.php?s=1376
