[Sosfbay-discuss] BREAKING NEWS - Gutsy French Green Party Leader

[alexcathy at aol.com]

Dear Green Friends, 
 
Here's another story to file away for future reference whenever somebody plays that "Green is a white peoples thing" card.   
 
See pasted below excerpts from a breaking news story just posted. the boldfaced type is my emphasis.   
 
 
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Posted on the Web Site of the San Jose Mercury News, www.mercurynews.com, 
Wednesday, November 17, 2005. 
 
STATE OF EMERGENCY IN FRANCE AS VIOLENCE ABATES ON 13TH DAY 
 
By Sebastian Rotella
Los Angeles Times
 
PARIS - The French government declared a state of emergency Tuesday, enabling police to impose curfews and other extraordinary measures to combat the worst riots in recent history.
 
President Jacques Chirac's Cabinet decided at a special meeting to invoke an emergency-powers law that has been used only once since first wielded during the Algerian war of independence against France 50 years ago.
 
. . . 
 
Passed in 1955 during the war ending in Algeria's independence from France, the law implemented Tuesday was applied first in Algeria, then in France in 1958 to suppress conflict connected to the fighting in the colony. Since then, the government has declared emergency powers only once: in the French-run territory of New Caledonia in 1985.
 
Nonetheless, leaders of the center-right government said Tuesday the time had come for an extraordinary response.
 
"It is necessary to accelerate the return to calm,'' Chirac said.
 
The Socialist Party, the largest opposition force, expressed support for the move during debate in the National Assembly on Tuesday, as did far-right parties. On the far left, the smaller Green and communist parties condemned the state of emergency as a "provocation.'' Their leaders said it raises bad memories of the struggle in Algeria because many rioters are of North African descent.
 
"`This state of emergency . . . treats these children and grandchildren of immigrants as the indigents of the republic,'' said Green Party leader Noël Mamère, saying he would refuse to enact emergency powers in the town where he is mayor.
 
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Now, let me hasten to say, I am not remotely qualified to judge whether or not these measures by the Chirac regime are good or bad. 
 
All I am saying is that for Green Party leader Noël Mamère to make this statement at a time like this is worthy of a chapter in "Profiles in Courage."  Please note, he's not just an activist mouthing off, but mayor of a town with the actual responsibility of governing.  Also note the contrast with the dipshit French Socialist Party, the French equivalent to our do-nothing Democrats.  
 
That's guts! 
 
Anybody remember the 1992 Rodney King riots? I recall a couple of Democrats named Bill Clinton and Jerry Brown were running for president and used the L.A. tragedy as an opportunity to show what "New Democrats" they were by playing the "Tough Guy." 
 
Greens have guts! 
 
 
Alex Walker 
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