RUTHFULLY YOURS

The imprimatur of an Islamic cleric:

Officials said the rioters also torched shops and attacked a streetcar (tramway) line. Police said some rioters also shot at officers and that they returned fire. The French newspaper Le Monde says the youths started their rampage after hearing a Muslim imam give a ceremony for an alleged robber, who died Thursday night after being chased by police and exchanging gunfire.(VOA)

UPDATE: The police were fired on by automatic gunfire, a fact that strangely was only reported on by al jazeera.

From Atlas reader the cat:

We are not too familiar with automatic gunfire in Europe this is a new reality for us. Youth’s torched at least 50 cars and two shops

• France 2007: Punk Jihad
• France 2008, 2009: Punk Jihad

UPDATE: New video:

The punk jihad in France is back. The hudna is over. Hostilities resume. Thousands of burning cars redux?

France: Riots over killing of Muslim man

Cars burned, police shot at after authorities kill hold-up suspect near Grenoble Y Net News

Rioters burned cars, attacked a tramway and shot at police in the French city of Grenoble overnight in protest at the death of a local Muslim man, identified as 27-year- old Karim Boudouda, fleeing police after allegedly holding up the city’s casino.

Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux was to travel to the southeastern city on Saturday to monitor events, his office said.

The violence began around midnight on Friday and lasted through the night in the poor suburban neighborhood of Villeneuve, home to the alleged robber.

[…]

Police said they intervened after local residents stopped a tramway by setting a fire on the rails and stoned it. At least 50 cars were burned and police said they were shot at once and returned fire. No casualties were reported.

The trouble followed a hold-up in a casino in nearby Uriage-les-Bains by two armed men in the early hours of Friday.

Police choppers join chase

Police said the duo fled with 20,000-40,000 euros and were chased by police. Police said the suspects opened fire, wounding an officer, and one of the suspected robbers was killed in the ensuing shooting.

The second man fled into Villeneuve, where police helicopters flew overhead for much of the night in a fruitless attempt to locate him.

The riot in Grenoble recalled civil unrest that exploded across France in late 2005 after two teenagers from a rough Parisian suburb died as they were fleeing police.