Editorial Note: The following news reports are summaries from original sources. They may also include corrections of Arabic names and political terminology. Comments are in parentheses.

 

France Riots Rooted in Institutional Racism and Colonial Past, Quran Burning in Sweden Is an Islamophobic Hate Crime, Says President Erdogan

July 4, 2023

 

President Erdogan, in Ankara, July 3, 2023

Scenes of French riots, June-July 203

 

France riots rooted in 'institutional racism, colonial past’: Erdoğan

BY DAILY SABAH WITH AGENCIES

 ANKARA JUL 04, 2023  

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Monday blamed France’s nationwide riots on institutional racism and the country’s colonial past, saying that he hoped the violent events would come to an end as soon as possible.

“In countries known for their colonial past, cultural racism has turned into institutional racism,” he said on television after chairing a Cabinet meeting in the capital Ankara.

He blamed the French unrest Monday on Islamophobia that he linked to France’s colonial past.

The French government has been battling riots and looting in Paris and across the country since 17-year-old Nahel M. – a French citizen of Algerian background – was shot dead by a police officer during a traffic stop last Tuesday.

“At the root of the events that started in France is the colonial architecture built by this mentality. Most immigrants condemned to live in ghettos, who are systematically oppressed, are Muslims.”

He also condemned the widespread looting that has accompanied the unrest.

“The streets cannot be used to seek justice. However, it is clear the authorities should also learn from the social explosion,” Erdoğan said.

“We hope that the recent events, which cause us concern, will come to an end as soon as possible before more blood is shed and the spiral of violence worsens,” he added.

Erdoğan also said that Türkiye is concerned that these events will lead to a “new wave of pressure and intimidation” of immigrants and Muslims.

The president also said the Turkish Foreign Ministry had issued necessary advisories to citizens who live in France or plan to visit there.

“Our embassies and consulates always stand with our citizens. We are also closely monitoring the process with our relevant departments...

“We do not want any country, where hundreds of thousands of our citizens live, to be dragged into such a vortex. Above all, we cannot allow racial hatred to target our people,” he added.

Türkiye’s Ambassador to France Ali Onaner on Tuesday said that the embassy is monitoring the events closely.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA), Onaner underlined the embassy is making “every effort to ensure that none of our citizens suffer from these incidents, and not be affected."

The ambassador elaborated that the French authorities do not have the obligation of informing the embassy in the case of dual citizens in the case of arrests and that relatives should in these cases contact the embassy to ask for support.

"With the information we have at the moment, we can say that there is no Turkish citizen detained.”

He added that the embassy also continues to follow the events closely so that businesses of Turkish citizens in France are not damaged.

“As far as we can follow from the information on social media, we have at least one citizen who may have been affected by the lootings, and our consulate general is making efforts to contact this citizen,” Onaner said.

He said that the killing of the 17-year-old caused a reaction in all segments of the French population as the video showing the moment of his death did not show that the police acted in self-defense.

Pointing out that the incidents continued to increase in the first four days, which he described as an alarming development, Onaner reiterated that the embassy issued a travel warning for Turkish citizens who are in or traveling to France.

Onaner stated that as part of the warning, they advised citizens to stay away from the areas where these actions took place and called on them to follow the statements made by the embassy or the French authorities.

Quran Burning in Sweden

On the other side, Erdoğan also spoke on the latest Islamophobic act in Sweden, renewing his condemnation of a Quran-burning that took place in Stockholm last week, describing the action as a hate crime against Muslims.

Swedish police allowed the burning outside a mosque in central Stockholm, citing freedom of speech after a court overturned a ban on a similar Quran burning.

“The vile attack on our holy book, the Holy Quran, in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, enraged us all,” Erdoğan said. “This perverted disregard for the feelings of 2 billion Muslims cannot be compatible with the most basic human values, let alone freedom of thought.”

“We have made it clear that the determined fight against terrorist organizations and Islamophobia are our red line,” Erdoğan said. “Everyone must accept that Türkiye’s friendship cannot be won by supporting terrorism or making space for terrorists.”

Türkiye has delayed giving its final approval to Sweden’s membership in NATO, accusing the country of being too lenient toward anti-Islamic demonstrations as well as terrorist entities.

NATO wants to bring Sweden into the fold by the time NATO leaders meet in Lithuania on July 11-12, but Erdoğan said Stockholm still had obligations to fulfill. NATO requires the unanimous approval of all existing members to expand, and Türkiye and Hungary are the only countries that have not yet ratified Sweden’s bid.

“Instead of wasting time with distraction tactics, we believe that keeping to the promises will be a more rational, more beneficial method,” Erdoğan said. “We advise them to scrutinize themselves and do their homework better.”

In the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Sweden and Finland applied for NATO membership in May 2022. Finland has been a member of the alliance since April 2023.

Damage to Sweden’s Image

Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom, on the same day, said that incidents such as the Quran burning “could turn our country’s good image into a bad one.”

Speaking to local daily Sydsvenskan on Monday, Billstrom said the Swedish state struggles to save its reputation.

“Sweden’s good image will change in the long run if it continues to be portrayed as Islamophobic. It is difficult to predict what the consequences will be in the process of Sweden’s NATO membership approval. Defense is also important,” the foreign minister said, drawing attention to Türkiye’s reservations in ratifying Sweden’s accession to NATO.

France riots rooted in 'institutional racism, colonial past’: Erdoğan | Daily Sabah

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France in a spiral of violence

French Daily News, 30th June 2023 - 10:23 am 

by Emilien Lacombe

40,000 gendarmes and police officers, the RAID, the BRI and the GIGN were unable to prevent rioters from ransacking numerous French towns for the third night running. The executive has reached an impasse.

The toll from Thursday night to Friday was very high. Hundreds of cars burnt (74 in Strasbourg, 48 in Moselle), streetcars and buses set on fire, public buildings – town halls, police stations, schools, high schools, media libraries, banks, etc. – set on fire, hundreds of stores looted: the violence has escalated in many French cities, and there’s no sign of things calming down. Quite the contrary, in fact. Here and there, young people were seen with weapons of war. Worrying! The toll was also heavy on the forces of law and order, with 249 policemen and gendarmes injured. And 667 rioters were arrested.

How to calm things down?

The starting point of the riots was the death of 17-year-old Nahel, killed by police fire. Driving a large German sedan, the young man refused to obey the police at around 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday in Nanterre (Hauts-de-Seine). Immediately, several Paris-area neighborhoods went up in flames. The white march organized on Thursday degenerated into clashes with the police. Then young people (sometimes as young as 13 or 14) in neighborhoods across France went on the rampage, attacking public and private buildings.

How to calm things down? The government has reached an impasse. It can either crack down hard on the riots, at the risk of fuelling further violence. Or it can stall and let the anger run its course for a couple of days, at the risk of upsetting part of the population. His room for manoeuvre is narrow. But the answer is political. How can we avoid the communitarianism that is developing in the neighborhoods of every city, from the smallest to the largest?

The Americanization of French society

In any case, what’s happening in France today bears witness to a yawning fracture in French society resulting from years of failure to integrate immigrant populations. Communities are developing on the bangs of French society, with their own language, their own culture, their own religion, their own heralds. As in the United States, where whites, blacks and Latinos live side by side, not with each other. And, as in the USA, people buy guns and join shooting clubs to defend themselves. As in the good old days of the Wild West. Is this what we want in France? In any case, with just one year to go before the opening of the Olympic Games, events linked to violence are cause for concern.

France in a spiral of violence (frenchdailynews.com)

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Riots : What’s next?

 2nd July 2023 

French Daily News, by Marcel Gay

The urban violence shaking the country reveals the weakness of the executive. It has brutally subdued the Gilets jaunes and opponents of retirement at 62, but it is tetanized by the savage hordes destroying town halls, setting fire to vehicles and looting stores.

A sad spectacle! What image of France have we been sending abroad for the past week? Scenes of chaos flash across TV screens the world over. Even Iran is calling on France to “put an end to the violent treatment of its people”! That’s a tall order. Algeria reminds France of its “duty to protect” its citizens. It’s the world upside down. It’s like a dream. The givers of lessons take their lumps.

“A milestone has been reached in horror and ignominy”.

While it’s true that the fifth night of rioting was “calmer” than previous nights, according to Gérald Darmanin, there were nonetheless 10 police stations attacked, as well as 10 gendarmerie barracks and 6 municipal police stations, 871 fires on the public highway and 577 car fires. There were also 719 arrests, and 45 police officers and gendarmes injured. Excuse the understatement. But this night of chaos was marked by the firebombing of the home of the mayor of L’Haÿ-les-Roses (Val-de-Marne), Vincent Jeanbrun. Last night, a milestone was reached in horror and ignominy,” tweeted the elected official. My home was attacked and my family the victims of an assassination attempt”. The mayor’s wife and two children, aged 5 and 7, were forced to take refuge with neighbors to avoid the worst, but were targeted by mortar fire as they fled. Mrs Jeanbrun was wounded and suffered a broken leg.

Monday on the forecourt of France’s town halls

In view of the seriousness of the incident, the Créteil public prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation into the attempted murder. On Sunday, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, Territorial Cohesion Minister Christophe Béchu and Minister Delegate for Territorial Collectivities Dominique Faure met with Vincent Jeanbrun. The government stands by all mayors,” declared the Prime Minister. These attacks and violence against elected representatives are unacceptable, and the perpetrators will be prosecuted with the utmost firmness.”

The attack in L’Haÿ-les-Roses sent shockwaves across the country. David Lisnard, President of the Association des maires de France (AMF), has invited not only mayors, but all citizens who wish to do so, to gather this Monday, July 3, in front of the town halls of all communes, as a sign of protest. They will be wailing their sirens to express the anger of elected representatives, but also of all citizens in the face of aggression and violence. So what’s next? Do we continue to watch the Franco-French war on TV and the surreal images of store looting? Wait for the barbarian hordes to calm down? If the executive doesn’t put an end to the disorder soon, if the police don’t respond firmly to urban violence, citizens will band together, form militias, arm themselves to defend their lives and property. In fact, they’ve already started. Is this what we want?

Riots : What's next? (frenchdailynews.com)

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Overnight violence halves in French cities after week of riots

The Local France - news@thelocal.fr

Published: 4 Jul, 2023

Overnight violence in French cities has halved in 24 hours, the interior ministry said on Tuesday, a week after riots erupted over the police killing of a teenager at a traffic stop.

Seventy-two people were arrested overnight on Monday nationwide, including 24 in and around Paris, and 24 buildings torched or damaged, it said.

A statement said 159 vehicles had been set ablaze, and 202 fires set in rubbish bins or elsewhere in public areas.

Four offices of police or gendarmes came under attack, but there were no injuries.

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Police mobilisation had been kept at the same level as the two previous nights, at 45,000 in all of France, and this will continue on Tuesday night.

Several riot-related restrictions remain in place, including the ending of bus and tram services at 9pm. 

The government has battled riots and looting since 17-year-old Nahel M was killed by an officer during a traffic stop on Tuesday just outside Paris, rekindling long-standing accusations of systemic racism among security forces.

Mayors across France held rallies Monday calling for an end to the violent clashes.

IN NUMBERS The impact of a week of rioting and looting across France

Monday's demonstrations calling for a "return to republican order" came after the home of the mayor of a Paris suburb was rammed by a burning car, prompting widespread outrage.

A total of 157 people had been arrested overnight Sunday to Monday - already a sharp decline from the number held the night before.

President Emmanuel Macron was on Tuesday to meet with the mayors of 220 municipalities that suffered damage during the riots.

Macron hopes to "start the painstaking, long-term work needed to understand the profound reasons that led to these events", an official at the president's office said.

Overnight violence halves in French cities after week of riots - The Local