PARIS (AP) — France’s prime minister says the country needs to use the attacks carried out by three French Islamic extremists as a reason to look inward at “a territorial, social, and ethnic apartheid.”
Manuel Valls told journalists Tuesday that fighting hatred, anti-Semitism and racism are urgent, notably in the rundown suburbs that are home to sizable immigrant communities.
Valls, a relatively conservative Socialist whose hard line on Islamic extremism has won many fans, says he wasn’t making excuses, “but we also have to look at the reality of our country.”
Three French-born gunmen with immigrant parents carried out the attacks from Jan. 7-9 in the Paris region, killing a total of 17 people before they themselves died in police raids.
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
