Update: How Many Cars Torched? (Media Lies)
Charles Johnson
Mon May 7, 2007 at 10:23 am PDT • Views: 713
Not only did the Associated Press bury their report that 367 cars had been torched in France, now it turns out that the media have been lying about the violence.
Because the actual number of cars destroyed by “youths” last night was 730—about twice the number reported by the AP.
This Reuters article also says 78 policemen were injured by the “youths,” and the violence was much more widespread than we’ve been told: Police hurt in French election violence.
PARIS (Reuters) - Hundreds of people were arrested in France overnight in clashes between police and protesters angry over conservative Nicolas Sarkozy’s victory in Sunday’s presidential election, police said.
Official figures released on Monday said demonstrators set fire to 730 cars and injured 78 policemen across France, with 592 people arrested in the violent protests against the tough-talking former interior minister.
The tally was revised sharply upwards after an initial report appeared to downplay the clashes and was at odds with local police figures and eyewitness reports, which suggested widespread troubles in numerous French cities.
This comes as no surprise, because French media have openly stated that they will cover up the true extent of the violence. And the French Constitutional Council recently passed a law criminalizing the reporting of acts of violence by anyone other than professional journalists.
Frank says: