Word: bel
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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Sighs of relief were exhaled across France Wednesday, with news that rioting in suburbs north of Paris had eased considerably during the third consecutive night of unrest. But even if the relative calm restored to the housing projects of Villiers-le-Bel lessened fears France might be experiencing the same kind of outbreak of violence in Paris's "banlieues" which spread to over 300 French towns in 2005, there was one reason for jittery French observers to hold their breath. Just as there were signs of cooling tempers among rioting youths, French President Nicolas Sarkozy vowed that he planned...
...France two years ago grew Monday evening, when youths from a suburban Paris housing project staged a second straight night of battles with police. A total of 77 injuries (five serious) among officers have been reported since the rioting began Sunday afternoon, when two teenage residents of Villiers-le-Bel died after their motorcycle collided with a police car. But with the initial attacks on Sunday night having spread to five outlying suburbs during clashes Monday, concern is now rising that rioting may wind up spreading across the nation as it did in 2005 if it manages to ignite resentment...
...Over 100 youths from the suburb of Villiers-le-Bel 12 miles north of Paris pelted riot police with projectiles for around six hours Monday night; police responded firing back tear gas and flashballs at assailants. Rioters also torched dozens of cars, several businesses, police posts and municipal buildings, and used their intimate knowledge of the labyrinth of project buildings to maneuver security forces into exposed areas. Despite a call for calm by families of the deceased, local youths continued their arson attacks and clashes Monday to protest what they say is police responsibility for the deaths...
...Indeed, despite the headlines the violence in Villiers-le-Bel has generated, periodic clashes with police and bouts of vandalism in reaction to perceived injustices are routine events in France's banlieues. University of Grenoble Sociology and security professor Sebastian Roché estimates around 100 cars are burned across France on an average night, and limited battles with police common. But what makes events in Villiers-le-Bel different - and potentially contagious to other blighted areas across France - is the passion they've generated. Roché says levels of frustration felt in banlieues usually produce an equally powerful reaction...
DEFINITION bok-ser ri-bel-yuhn n. Term used to describe a surprisingly fervent movement by lawmakers to prohibit young people from wearing baggy low-rise pants that droop below the hips and expose their briefs or boxers...