You're being a little bit like a dog with a bone on this, with your sole intent being to put France down by any means possible. Actually there are far worse crimes around than this - it fills the air with smoke and is, therefore an air pollution issue, but not worse than that. The cars were insured anyway and as long as the drivers were not in them then I see the issue of beating up individual police officers as far worse, and that happens everywhere.
Off Topic The Environment
- Thread starter Leo
- Start date
I'm sure if you were one of the victims of this 'tradition' you would not take it so lightly. There are up to 60,000 cars a year deliberately set alight each year in France mainly in disadvantaged suburban housing projects (slums?) The French government said it 'went really well' because only 1,000 cars were burnt on purpose.
I am unaware of where you get your statistics, and also your motives in using them. Strange to say I have not seen any reports in the German press about this, and so will not comment on it. However, there are many reasons for burning cars in the areas you describe - insurance scams being one, the other being the need to get rid of cars which have been used in other crimes.
Did you not read the reports in my earlier posts? Try this one. The main burning season is apparently July and August but Dec 31st is extremely popular.
Over 1,000 cars torched across France as New Year's Eve arrests rise ...
But what the hell are you trying to prove ! Yes there are some people doing this in France - just as other crimes are more common in Britain.....does it prove that France is in imminent danger of collapse ? For God's sake change the record.
I have not suggested France is in danger of collapse, where did you get that from? I would not like these very bad 'traditions' on the continent creeping into the UK.
When talking about 'bad traditions' you might like to consider that 5 people were stabbed to death in separate incidents in London on New Years Eve - until you can provide French statistics on this (rather more serious) crime then I suggest you stop griping about France.
I don't think too many people are bothered about gang members killing each other. Not a gripe about France at all, just intrigued how this burning car tradition has lasted so long. For the French government to dismiss it lightly as only 1,000 cars were burnt out seems a bit odd.
Not quite sure how this thread on the environment has deviated, but if we want to look at crime there was a lot of news today from the UK about knife crime, and how the police are struggling because of the cuts to deal with it. SH might wish to say it is just gang members having a go at each other, but can he prove that? When you read about football fans from the UK going to away games around Europe, creating chaos because of the binge culture that exists, you can link that to the latest measures to try and keep the trouble makers out of the A&E departments with mobile sober up tanks. I really would be far more ashamed of people creating trouble with knives, and not even trying to provide enough police to deal with it.
It's not just gang members, in London there is a real issue with knife crime, acid attacks and moped thefts/burglaries/etc...
The French don't tend to be as cowardly when it comes to violence, in my area growing up there was a risk of fisticuffs but no one would ever dream of knifing someone or throwing corrosive substances in peoples' faces.
Will SH have the decency of admitting that huge cuts to policing fuelled the rise in crime and terror attacks last year in this country? Profit before people, the Tory mantra.
We actually learnt that the Daily Express article was factually correct. We also discovered this nationwide burning of random motor vehicles on specific dates has only been in existence since 2005. Thankfully this is one 'tradition' that has not caught on beyond France's boundaries.
This wanton destruction appears not to be due to an anti car regime on environmental grounds but civil unrest against the poverty and conditions in the ghettos situated in most large Cities.
This wanton destruction appears not to be due to an anti car regime on environmental grounds but civil unrest against the poverty and conditions in the ghettos situated in most large Cities.
Interesting piece in the Grauniad about environmental short-termism :
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jan/02/us-ocean-monuments-environment-trump
“These monuments are like bank accounts, whereby the fishing industry can live off the interest, which is the reproductive output of the protected areas,” said Robert Richmond, a marine ecologist at the University of Hawaii.
“Invalidating this management is nothing short of irresponsible and flies in the face of best science. It’s a race to the bottom, for the short-term gain of the fishing industry but to their long-term cost.”
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jan/02/us-ocean-monuments-environment-trump
“These monuments are like bank accounts, whereby the fishing industry can live off the interest, which is the reproductive output of the protected areas,” said Robert Richmond, a marine ecologist at the University of Hawaii.
“Invalidating this management is nothing short of irresponsible and flies in the face of best science. It’s a race to the bottom, for the short-term gain of the fishing industry but to their long-term cost.”
Random burning of motor vehicles can accompany any demo which gets out of control - there was some of this at the G20 demonstrations in Hamburg, and a large number of cars go up in flames during May 1st demos in Kreuzberg (Berlin) every year. The reason that this may be a relatively new phenomenon has a lot to do with the media and the internet. Knife crime is very old (thousands of years), so are a lot of other crimes, which don't need to be learned - but it takes an element of knowledge to safely torch a car. You can find anything on the internet - including info on how to make a Molly ! - maybe it is time to start controlling the net a bit more thoroughly.
The French 'burn up' seems to be different. It has morphed into an annual tradition or celebration similar to our Guy Fawkes night except we simply light fireworks instead of people's cars.
Let's pretend it is a made up Daily Express story although you may struggle convincing those who's cars have been torched!!
Do you have some form of learning disability?
I know what happens in France, I don't rely on some backwards comic to keep me informed.
You ignored my post, you're trying to attack France to distract from the shambles this government is making of Brexit.
You do realise the point of a forum is to read and respond to other peoples' posts on a certain topic?
You don't even do that now, you just bleat out whatever right-wing nonsense you read about in your daily comic
Hopefully your 2018 forum posts will consist of slightly more than just whinging about the world being unfair to you.