Talk:French Intifada

WorldTribune and removed line

It is often seen as a continuation of the 2005 civil unrest in France although it has become more Islamic with Muslim youths reported to be shouting "Allah Akbar" (God is great) as they attack police.

I remove the above line for two reasons. Firstly, it doesn't agree with the source which makes no mention of anyone saying Allahu Akbar. Secondly, I have serious doubts about whether WorldTribune is a reliable source in this case. A quick look at their website leads me to believe it's likely to be an incredibly biased one Nil Einne 05:41, 13 January 2007 (UTC)

This whole article is one big example of bias. Black-Velvet 10:32, 30 March 2007 (UTC)

Suggest Deletion of Article

Having stumbled upon this article I am at once bemused and alarmed that such errant tripe is being presented as an article. A few points in arguing for suggesting deletion: (a) If one followed the French language reporting (or if one is actually familiar with the French suburbs), it was very clear the 2005 incidents were not Muslim but minorities of colour - youth of both sub-Saharan African background (of various ethnicities and religions) and Maghrebine (largely Muslim); (b) The usage of French Intefada seems to largely have cropped up as far as I could tell in the American hard-right blogosphere (I am not of the Left myself, so this is not noted as a political point as such), and strikes me as having been part of a traditional Euro-phobic discourse one sees in the US from time to time. (c) The article itself cites no substantive support for the usage.

Now, let me direct you to some citations: First, in bad form, but convenient a blog post I did - skip my writing, that's not a citation, rather the post links a range of articles on the events: http://www.aqoul.com/archives/2005/11/last_item_on_fr.php

In addition, let me cite to the conservative Figaro "Davantage de Noirs chez les émeutiers" by Cécilia Gabizon, le Figaro, 11 novembre 2005 (which reads More Blacks Among the Rioters, and article that goes on to observe that police in France reported more youth of black African descent than of Arabo-Berber/Maghrebine/North African descent among the rioters. (cited http://www.cahiers-pedagogiques.com/article.php3?id_article=1996 and full text copied here, most links to arty don't work apparently due to Figaro own site policy: http://fr.mailarchive.ca/soc.politique/2005-11/22545.html ) The articles linked in my own blog post (to both English and French language observers) make the same or similar points.

It strikes me as clear that the usage of French Intefada was an American one, and one largely marginal. The article should be either radically changed or deleted, as at present it presents, at best, a certain political POV argument / POV as a fact, and at its foundation is ludicrously mis-informed (this of course says nothing about the content as such of the French debate, a matter of other analysis). (collounsbury 11:15, 2 July 2007 (UTC))