Earlier last month (9 and 10 November, 2008), an unknown individual (or individuals) in a black 4x4 vehicle made two separate attempts to kidnap two girls, an eight-year-old and a nine-year-old, in the French Pays de Gex villages of Collonges-Fort-l’Ecluse and Thoiry. No link between the two incidents has been confirmed. While local police visited schools to warn children to be careful, there was little direct information for the parents. The information that was made available advised them not to allow their children to walk alone to school or even to go down to the bakery without being accompanied. Certain French communes have made the effort to keep parents updated; others have not. The decision to inform apparently lies with the mairie itself. As contributor Jack Turner noted in •Written by Jack Turner• ••Saturday•, 22 •November• 2008 05:25•
When the Pays de Gex was hit last year by a plethora of armed robberies, the mayors of this neighbouring French region had little idea what was going on. They also refused to take part in a public meeting in Grilly with over 100 concerned citizens from at least 12 communes from both sides of the border. The gendarmerie, too, did not consider it the business of the local citizenry to find out what was going on - or what to do. In the end, it was up to a private French security firm and two United Nations specialists more used to dealing with war situations around the world to provide advice. With the recent kidnapping scare in the Pays de Gex, the Mayor of Thoiry seems to be perpetuating the tradition of failing to keep his constituents informed. - and to keep priorities straight. Jack Turner sent us this dispatch.
