Dominique Sopo: 'Rioting has spread because people are ignored'

These riots which erupted in Clichy-sous-Bois did not emerge from a vacuum, but had two distinct causes.

The first is the attitude of the Interior Minister, Nicolas Sarkozy, who threatened to "hose down" the "scum" on the estates. That lit the touch-paper on an explosive situation that had been heating for some time.

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The second is the deep sense of grievance among the people in the estates who have been ignored for so long: that is why the rioting has spread like wildfire.

We condemn this violence, particularly because the victims have been the people who live in these places. But the delinquents have been able to motivate other youths into joining them because of their deep frustration.

The risk is that their solidarity will become even greater. It is the only way some of these young people, suffering from massive unemployment, racial discrimination and the disappearance of civic associations, have been able to express their frustrations.

This is not a new phenomenon. SOS Racisme has been warning about the marginalisation of the population on the estates for the past 15 years. They have been pushed into ghettoes. But little has been done.

Sarkozy was allowed to deal with the problem as a matter for the police. That is the wrong approach. Then, after the incidents in Clichy, the government left him out there on his own for four or five days. There was silence from the rest of government until Chirac spoke out. This kind of zero governance is unacceptable.

At least the problem of the suburbs has been recognised: in the past, it was brushed under the carpet. Now, the voice of the estates has been heard.

The government does not know what to do, and no announcements have been made about how it intends to improve these people's lives. Now officials have tried to set up round-tables, with different groups talking to each other on the estates. But SOS Racisme, which has years of experience, has not been invited.

We have the impression the government is feeling its way. I don't understand what they want to do. What is needed are radical measures, of the sort that we have been proposing for years. I fear that the lack of a response means we still have more trouble ahead.

The writer is President of SOS Racisme