Techno Parade 2009 - Organized Violence

I admit to having no interest in Techno Parades. I had no idea what it was until last year when I heard some vague descriptions of the event: a type of youth-oriented celebration of the world of technology and electronics, with emphasis on the latest fads, trends, games, gimmicks, etc... Held every year since 1998, in Paris, usually on the second Saturday of September, it has become a yearly pretext for hoopla in the streets of Paris and provides one more outlet for young Parisians' seemingly insatiable need to get out and demonstrate. This year's event had as its theme: Techno Parade 2009, a musical and ethnic mix:

While the event is not known for being sedate, this year it turned ugly, as ethnic gangs attacked both the demonstrators and the police. Apparently the violence was underreported in the MSM, and it was left to the Internet to fill in the gaps. A long post at François Desouche, that generated 1075 comments from readers, covers the event, beginning with five short videos, that were then combined into one amazing 2"26' video (over 12,000 views so far at YouTube):



According to FDS:

None of the major media news services deemed it a good idea to speak of the attacks committed by the gangs. Officially, "at 6:00 p.m. no incident had been reported by the Prefecture of Police". Yet, numerous testimonies at forums and social networks confirmed that attacks and violent thefts had been perpetrated by gangs of "young persons" late in the afternoon, interrupting the festivities.

FDS proceeded to request eye-witness accounts and videos from anyone who had them.

Some notable quotes from notables who attended:

Frédéric Mitterand, Minister of Culture: "The Techno Parade is a great moment of gaiety that allows Parisians to take possession of their city."

Jack Lang, former Minister of Culture under François Mitterand: "Many prejudices vanished, but freedoms are still to be won. In Paris, it's as if a curfew were enforced at nightfall. Paris has become a city that's too policed and too gloomy."

Sophie Bernard, director of Technopol and creator of the Techno Parade: "(...) We are going to celebrate the public of the Techno Parade, who, from the first, have exhibited a magnificent (sic!) mixture, bringing together very diverse people: blacks, whites, North Africans, heterosexuals, gays, young and less young."

Six days after the Techno Parade had ended, curtailed due to the eruption of violence, Le Monde published an article in which the race of some of the perpetrators was revealed, a rare admission from an organ of the MSM:

The celebration was ruined. (...) In the rear section of the parade that had brought together 400,000 persons (100,000 according to the prefecture), gangs of young people attacked the participants. These incidents were clothed in a great discretion. The police say they were struck by the very organized nature of the acts of violence committed.

Note: "clothed in a great discretion" is a euphemism for: "no one dared talk about this in the media."

In 2007 and 2008, the Techno Parade like other festive events, had already been the target of violent gangs. This time, all branches of the police proceeded to make 95 arrests, four times as many as last year. But above all, the perpetrators seemed to respond to a precise tactic. (...)

Among these perpetrators, many young blacks were wearing a distinctive sign - a white cap, a hood or a white article of clothing. They are visible in the amateur videos circulating on YouTube, that were exploited by websites of the extreme-right. These images, taken primarily on the pont de Sully (note: pont = bridge), then on the steps of the Bastille Opera House, show individuals, often in white caps, violently pushing their way into the parade, striking the participants and then running away. (...) Several policemen insist they were confronted with young people who were acting in "structured groups, with a chief who indicated the objectives."

Note: Note how any website that showed the videos is considered to be of the "extreme-right".

"This year it was obvious; they were in groups of 30 or 40 in close formation," says Lionel Azoulay, leader of the Blocks Society that has been in charge of security for the Techno Parade's floats from the beginning in 1998. He was present with his 180 security agents in orange T-shirts who had to face off with the young persons. "Some shouted 9-3! Others 9-4!"

Note: The numbers refer to the departments they come from.

"They did indeed shout out the department numbers as a signal to mobilize, but I don't think there was an organization," says Jean-François Demarais, who makes a nuanced distinction. "They were not vandals in the classic sense. And there was no damage along the way; rather they were young persons who had come for 'booty.' Some of them had plastic bags with ten cell phones inside." (...)

Note: Having seen the video, I'm sure you'll agree that Monsieur Demarais' "nuance" is nothing more than the usual insanity of the politically correct - refusing to see what is jumping out at you before your eyes. Fortunately for him, the videos do not have teeth.