French rioters use Web, cell phones to incite
As if the French uprising isn’t bad enough. The rioters violate cyberspace for their own gain on this one, everything from using the Web to incite riots, to use of cell phones for possible escape routes from the police. This is one of the instances where good technology can be twisted and abused to fit one’s negative needs.
Young rioters are using blog messages to incite violence and cell phones to organize attacks in guerrilla-like tactics they have copied from anti-globalization protesters, security experts say. Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin has diverted resources to monitoring blogs in an effort to anticipate the movement of the protesters, who have set fire to thousands of cars since the unrest began on Oct. 27 following the deaths of two youths apparently fleeing police. On Wednesday, France imposed emergency measures in 38 suburbs, towns and cities including Paris, and police said a wave of riots was waning despite a 13th straight night of firebombs and torched cars. de Villepin published a decree invoking a 50-year-old law that gives regional government officials the power to impose nightly curfews against the rioters, who are mainly protesting against unemployment and racism. Also on Wednesday, two youths were placed under official investigation, one step short of pressing charges under French law, on suspicion of inciting violence over the Internet after urging people to riot in blogs, a judicial source said.
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