After the fires have died down and the smoke has cleared from the burnt wrecks of 9,000 automobiles, the leaders of France have been eager to lay blame. 200 MPs have approached the courts to prosecute seven rap groups as the source of the riots.
MP Francois Grosdidier, of de Villepin's governing UMP party, leads the attack against the musical groups. He says, however "...it is one of my primary responsibilities - to avoid any sort of confusion or finger-pointing."
Monsieur R, one of the accused rappers, defends his music claiming that his lyrics point out the leadership's neglect of minorities and that "Hip hop is a crude art, so we use crude words. It is not a call to violence."
That Monsieur R dude sounds like a tool, french people cant make decent music, but still trust politicians (Thats probobly (and so's that) spelt wrong)to blame something they dont understand
@snowman47 "just because somebody says french music sucks, that dose not make them a racist"
No, he didn't say french music sucks, he said french people can't make decent music. See the difference? Judging a persons ability based on race = racism.
@Lobdaddy A dictionary may not get you cheaper eggs but it may aid your spelling.
Name 3 good bands from Ukraine. Just cause you haven't heard of them doesn't mean they don't exist. I don't tend to listen to french music because I don't understand the lyrics and that's usually what I look for in a song. What style of music do you like? I'll see what I can find.
that the US is not the only county infected with brain dead morons for politicians. So I guess the rappers run France and the politicians are pissed about it. Really irks me when people don’t take responsibility for their actions or in this case inactions. Reminds me of another politician we all know, I won’t mention any names…Dubya.
Maybe we could start a stupid politician Olympics and have lots of very dangerous events. What an entertaining way to cull the herd.
The French interior minister is largely to blame for the scale of the violence in France. And this Grosdidier is just fishing for headlines. The tone and the content of French rap - which is actually more sophisticated than most of what I see on MTV - is more likely a result of the conditions the people are living in.
It's an old case of mixing up with the symptoms with the cause.
If the french had better policies regarding immigration and asylum seekers they wouldnt have the trouble they are having.
Rap music doesn't have to be a crude art. Some of the mechanisms employed in rap music can be quite clever. However crude speech does tend to appeal to the lowest common denominator.
14 comments because 1 person didn't read properly.
Mon Dieu! Sacre Bleu!
Lobdady failed to read my summary, and of course, the source article. He then proceeded to write such an incoherent retort based on the assumption that Monsieur R was saying that he supported the French gov't. Le Poop!
No such thing. The opposite, in fact. The rappers express dissent, while not (directly, so far as I know) supporting any violence.
unlike with video games, kids who listen to rap will believe anything those fools sing about...and it's always lame stuff about violence, guns, drugs, bi@tches, etc.
I say both are to blame and the gov. knows it so they arent "finger-pointing", just trying to get some backup
I think a more common consensus would be reflected by these jokes gleaned from comedians:
"I don't know why people are surprised that France won't help us get Saddam out of Iraq. After all, France wouldn't help us get Hitler out of France either." --Jay Leno
"What do you expect from a culture and a nation that exerted more of its national will fighting against Disney World and Big Macs than the Nazis?" --Dennis Miller
"They've taken their own precautions against > al-Qa'ida. To prepare for an attack, each Frenchman is urged to keep duct tape, a white flag, and a three-day supply of mistresses in the house." Argus Hamilton
Q. What did the mayor of Paris say to the German Army as they entered the city in WWII? A. Table for 100,000 m'sieur?
wasn't that popular back in the 70's? That's what I heard...everyone blamed rock. If little Jonny died while listing to *insert rocker* then it was the rocker's fault.
I always liked the idea of having the politicians fight the wars rather than the average people. So on that note, I think the first sporting event for this should be a way to settle wars. Basically when two countries are going to war, such as Iraq and the US, the two leaders meet, they each get a machine gun with a full clip. They walk 10 paces, turn and fire. If one of them is still alive at the end, that country wins the war, if they both die, we call it a draw, and whoever replaces them can either keep going, or they can declare peace.
Either way, we all win, either there will be world peace and the politicians will still be around, or we will be at war until we run out of politicians.
"unlike with video games, kids who listen to rap will believe anything those fools sing about...and it's always lame stuff about violence, guns, drugs, bi@tches, etc.
I say both are to blame and the gov. knows it so they arent "finger-pointing", just trying to get some backup"
I will just start off by saying: Anyone who blames rap music for the things that happened in France is a moron. These French artists have nothing to do with anything that happened in France. If the music is so bad then why isn't it banned? The French government just wants to put the blame on someone else. And how is rap music "unlike" video games.? In a rap song they only TALK about murder,drugs,money,etc....I seem to recall about 10,000 lawsuits against San Andreas for "polluting" our young childrens minds. The parents knew what they were buying, the game was labeled appropriately. It's basically the same situation with these French artists.
one difference is that a lot of kids/teens (who listen to rap) want to emulate their favorite rapper. Not saying I agree with the 'rap is to blame' but it's not exactly the same case regarding video games.
this published 2 years before the Paristinian Intifada, what's fair for Israel must be fair for France:
By Guy Milliere, FrontPageMagazine.com March 31, 2003 --
French-bashing is everywhere in the American media. I am French, and I must say if Americans knew completely what's happening in France, the French-bashing would be far harsher.
Jacques Chirac has been a friend of Saddam Hussein for more than thirty years. He allowed the sale of nuclear facilities to Iraq that were destroyed just in time by Israel. He sold Iraq the planes that were been used to gas thousands of Kurds. And Saddam is not the only friend Chirac has. Chirac has never met a ruthless dictator he did not like. Worse, Chirac is unprincipled and greedy. It is common knowledge in France that he stole a lot of money when he was the mayor of Paris, and everyone knows that if he had not been re-elected in May 2002, he would be in jail now. To hear him speaking about morality or international law nauseates every decent Frenchman.
And Chirac is not the only politician of this stripe in France. These days, it is becoming hard to find a French politician ready to speak about human rights, freedom or democracy. All of them seem to have the same speechwriter or to belong to the same totalitarian political party; all of them are anti-American, anti-Israeli and "pacifists." They regard Western civilization as something filthy and abhorrent.
If you read the newspapers, it's the same. At times it seems the only difference between the Soviet Union twenty years ago and France today is that in Soviet Union you had only one Pravda, and in France you now have at least ten such propaganda outlets: Different titles, same content. Their party line is clear in reporting on the personalities found in the present Middle Eastern crisis. Saddam Hussein, the "President of Iraq"? Well, maybe he has been brutal, but you know, in "those" countries... George W. Bush? He?€™s a "moron" - a former alcoholic, who has become a crazy fanatic, in fact the most dangerous man on the face of earth. Ariel Sharon? A fascist who loves to kill Arabs. Arafat? A great freedom fighter. When an American general speaks, it is merely propaganda, but when Tariq Aziz pontificates, it is pure truth.
... In many French cities with a growing radical Islamist population, no teenage girl can go out in the evening, at least not without a full burqa. If she does, it will mean that "she is for everybody": in short, a whore. In the same cities, every teenage girl - regardless of religion - has to wear the Muslim veil if she does not want to be harassed or killed. Almost every month, a young woman is mugged and raped in a suburb of a big city. Gang rape has become so frequent that a new word, used by the rapists themselves to define their hideous actions, is used by everybody: tournantes (revolving). To the rapists, the woman is nothing, a mere object to be thrown away after use. The people who speak about "revolving" seem to forget a human being is involved as the victim. Policemen do nothing. Every decent person knows the problem is Islam, but no one dares to say it. It could be dangerous. The streets are not safe.
One year ago, a French Muslim decided to create a new business: he was tired of seeing people drinking Coca-Cola - all this money going to Americans! He found a factory and started to produce Mecca Cola. On the label, he put a picture of the Al Aqsa mosque, with a large part of his profits would help to support the Palestinian cause. In some suburbs of Paris, Coca-Cola has disappeared; Mecca Cola has replaced it. A few days ago, another Muslim businessman announced he will start to sell Muslim-Up. It will have the taste of Sprite or Seven-Up, but it will be a Muslim drink - and naturally the profits will go to the Palestinian jihad, as well.
Three radio stations in France are Muslim radio stations, and if you listen to them, dedicated to broadcasting the voice of hate and racism all day long. One radio station belongs to a friend of the rightist Jean-Marie Le Pen, and curiously, if you listen to it, you will hear the same voice of hate and racism. Rightists and radical Muslims have discovered they have many things in common.
If you want to understand why all this is happening, you have to understand one thing: thirty years ago, French governments started to have a new foreign policy. They called this new policy, "Arabian Policy." France became closer to Arab countries - all of them disgusting dictatorships. France "benefited" by doing business easily in these countries. In exchange, France had to push Europe to unknot its ties with Isra?«l and the United States. In exchange too, "professors" came from the Arabian dictatorships to teach the Arabic language to the young Arabs living in France. The only book they used to teach the Arabic language was THE book, Al Kuran.
Now comes the time to pay the check: six million Muslims live in France, at least ten
Your title says one thing your story says another. In the title it says they are blaming the rap music and in the story it says they are blaming the groups, as in their actions.
Update:
"Rap 'not cause of French riots' French firemen putting out a fire in Lyon Arson attacks that began in the Paris region spread across France The French Prime Minister, Dominique de Villepin, has dismissed claims by some of his party colleagues that rap music fuelled suburban rioting in France."
'But he said that the courts should deal with lyrics that overstepped the mark.'
Nickds77, while it easy to see how you gave this story a bad rating, it is undeserved. Read the article with the proper perspective. Villepin says one thing, but does another. The article title was completely accurate. Don't let the political spin fool you.
Also, it seems that BBC itself might have modified this article.... because I remember it being different the first time I read it.
Apologies to other people reading this 'old news', but the this guy gave a bad rating and The Iron Board deserves better.... ;p
