As the situation in France continues to deteriorate, I am getting more email from readers there. I can’t vouch for their reliability, but I will pass them on with that caveat. This one is from Rich, an American living in a small town near Marseille. He is accompanying his wife who is in flight training school in Istres:
The unrest in Paris the last week+ has given me concern not just because we have good friends stationed there, but for what it might spark here in the south. This region is very charged, and of course, is the home of MANY more immigrants. Anyway, a la une de Le Monde ce matin is a report that the unrest has indeed begun to spread into Provence with rioting (car burnings, etc)in Dijon,Seine-Maritime, and Bouches-du-Rhone. Martigues is not a hot spot, but I am close enough to worry. The local paper La Provence only posts the front page, so it is useless to check. Also, looking at that, there is nothing really mentioned: http://www.laprovence-presse.fr/
La Provence may not be reporting the spreading violence, but CNN and many others are.
Violence was reported in some 20 communities around Paris and across the country, including areas near Rouen in northern France, Dijon in the east and Marseille in the south.
As for Paris itself, according to the Timesonline:The poor suburbs of Paris were set ablaze in the worst of eight consecutive nights of rioting, with 500 cars torched and a gym and primary school razed.
UPDATE: Shrinkwrapped has more.
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