Chirac says...
President Jacques Chirac said Monday that the unrest in the Muslim rich neighborhoods of France is a sign the nation isn't doing enough to appease the Islamafreakoids. While the rest of the world is being led to believe that these riots are about discrimination, Chirac noted that it may have something to do with the recent addition of a Pork Grinding facility in Clichy-sous-Bois.
In his first address to the nation since the rioting began, the president said jobs and benefits will be offered to the youths who seek employment at this pork house. He said all citizens should be more diverse with meat products that may go against the religious beliefs of Muslims.
French law must be obeyed, but values and hope also must be kindled in youths living in the poor, largely immigrant suburbs ringing French cities, he said.
"These events testify to a profound dislike of Pork...this is a crisis of direction, a crisis of reference points and a crisis of identity," he said. "We will respond by being weak, being unjust and being faithful to the pork factory's CEO (who is also extremely anti-American and has a stake in the UN Oil-For-Food scandal...
Chirac spoke after the Cabinet approved a measure banning all pork products, along with a state of emergency over lasting 12 days to three months. The parliment was to debate the bill Tuesday. There will be a possibility of the pork factory being shut down.
Chirac, who turns 73 later this month, was hospitalized in September for a blood vessel problem that many thought was a stroke. However, he showed no signs of an ailment Monday. Unusually, he wore spectacles, as he had done in his youth. He was observed eating a bacon and sausage sandwich. He was wearing a Tee shirt that had the words- "Eat Pork, the other white meat" on it.
He announced the creation of a corps of volunteers to offer training for 50,000 Muslim youths by 2007, and told companies and unions they must encourage meat diversity and support employment for youths from tough neighborhoods. The pork factory was allowed to do business here for this reason.