Mr. President: Give Us Back Our Streets!

I received a message this morning from the French anti-jihad organization VV&D about the French citizens of a Muslim-controlled area, who have written a letter directly to President Nicolas Sarkozy calling for help.

Here’s the text of the letter, as translated by Gaia:

Mr. President,

This is an appeal for help from the citizens of the 18ème Arrondissement. For several years now, certain of our streets have been occupied by fundamentalists who come from all over the Parisian region to practice their cult activities.

The pavements for hundreds of metres are taken over, putting pedestrians in grave danger as they are obliged to walk in the street to get past the people “praying”.

Entire streets are roped off with cars and security barriers and no entry signs, preventing the inhabitants of the area from going out or returning to their homes, the shopkeepers from working, ordinary citizens from circulating normally.

Every protest or even a simple attempt to penetrate into the zones occupied by these fundamentalists risks being met by insults, threats and aggression and for some time now no one dares to protest, such is the fear installed in our area.

Are we no longer a secular Republic? Isn’t occupation of the public highway by unauthorized cultic activities a public order offence? Is preventing the free circulation of citizens in public areas, by means of threats or other means, normal in our city? Why do we no longer have the right to enter or leave our homes? Why do we have to live in a climate of fear?

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Mr. Delanöe, the Mayor of Paris, knows perfectly about our situation, as does Mr. Vaillant Mayor, of the 18ème, and Mr. Gaudin Préfet de Police. All of them have abandoned our streets to Islamic fundamentalists; they have abandoned their citizens who can no longer walk around their city because certain areas are out of bounds to non-Muslims during prayer times.

Mr. President, you have affirmed that in France there are no “no-go zones”. So what would you call these areas or the militant fundamentalists who have shut roads for their exclusive private use for a number of years now without the police intervening to re-establish public order?

Mr. President. Do not abandon us also. Stop this occupation of our streets by fundamentalists.

The inhabitants of the 18ème Arrondissement of Paris.

We are not able to sign this document for fear of our lives and those of our families.

There’s more information (in French), plus a video, in this VV&D article.