A fireman tries to extinguish a blaze in a schoolroom which was set on fire in the city of Le Blanc-Mesnil, a Paris suburb, yesterday. Violence broke out in Paris suburbs for the seventh night running overnight yesterday after French youths set fire to dozens of cars. The continuing unrest compounds pressure on French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin's government, which has promised to restore order but is battling to paper over differences between ministers over the best way to tackle the unrest. - REUTERS
PARIS, (Reuters):
WHENEVER PEACE returns to Paris' riot-torn suburbs, part of the credit should go to the 'big brothers' out on the streets trying to calm down young hotheads and cushion the worst of the tough police crackdown.
These social workers, coaches and other mentors play a key role in the slums, watching over violent teenagers, mostly sons of North African and black immigrants, who reject teachers and police seen as part of an oppressive white French majority.
It's not clear les grands freres will get much official thanks, however. In the heated political debate triggered by the riots, critics have begun pointing the finger at them as part of the problem rather than part of the solution in the gritty suburbs.
The sight of bearded men urging rioters to calm down in the name of Islam on Monday has triggered a debate about whether Muslim radicals were exploiting the frustration of disaffected suburban youths, many of whom are of North African origin.
MUSLIM SECURITY SQUAD?
"The supposed mediation of big brothers crying out Allahu Akbar (God is Greatest) is one sign among many of the capitulation of the legitimate authorities," declared Bruno Gollnisch, a leader of the anti-immigrant National Front.
Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, whose policy includes a tough police response and dialogue with 'big brothers', had to defend himself in a radio interview against suggestions he had allowed Muslims to organise their own security squads.
"We work with mediators in these neighbourhoods," he said. "When rioters and police are clashing outside of a mosque, it's not unusual that the imam goes out and calls for calm."
Dalil Boubakeur, head of France's official Muslim Council, said unofficial authorities such as imams and 'big brothers' were a fact of Muslim life in the poor suburbs.
"This has triggered some mistrust in the media," he observed. "I think that the links that help integrate these youths should be cultivated."
