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Europe
French troops take hijacked ship
2005-09-28
HELICOPTER-borne French troops have recaptured a French cargo ship that had been seized by striking workers to protest the privatisation of a state-owned ferry company.

Black-clad and masked commandos rappelled from five helicopters to the deck of the cargo-passenger ship Pascal Paoli as it tried to enter the port of Bastia on the French Mediterranean island of Corsica. The sources said the vessel was recaptured in 10 minutes, and then set sail for the mainland.
The hijackers were unarmed and it still took 10 minutes? Someone leave a plate of cheese in the wardroom?
The Pascal Paoli had been taken over Tuesday in the mainland port of Marseille amid rioting by ferry workers. About 30 masked but unarmed men from the Union of Corsican Workers (STC), believed to be close to a Corsican independence movement, had overpowered officers of the ship, which had been docked in the port and had no passengers on board.

About 50 members of an elite unit specializing in dealing with hijackings and kidnappings, the GIGN, took part in the operation along with navy commandos. It followed two days of violence over the sale of the debt-ridden National Corsica Mediterranean Company (SNCM) to a French investment group, with clashes earlier in the day between police and supporters of the striking ferry workers.

The unrest broke out on Monday in Marseille on France's Mediterranean coast. Riot police there intervened with tear-gas to clear port entrance gates after groups of masked men set fire to pallets and set up barricades.

Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy hailed the "fast and efficient" operation by the French troops. "The GIGN knew, in this sensitive time, to retake without violence the SNCM ship that had been seized illegally," he said.
Posted by:Oztralian [AKA] God Save The World

#6  Pascal Paoli is a "Ro-Ro" ship of 37,500 GWT (577' long x 98' beam x 21' draft) that carries 622 passengers and 135 automobiles.

10 minutes to secure a vessel that size when you don't know whether or not the bad guys are armed sounds like pretty efficient work to me.
Posted by: Mike   2005-09-28 11:38  

#5  Yep it is that Paoli, I don't understand how a French company, furthermore owned by the state can have one of its ships bear Poli's name. And please avoid making fun of the French GIGN (Gendramerie's SWAT units). They are good. BTW it was them who stormed the plane that terrorists planned to crash upon the Eiffel Tower
Posted by: JFM   2005-09-28 11:28  

#4  Pascal Paoli

Wonder if they seized it because of the name.... isn't that the Corsican patriot from pre-bonpartist times?
Posted by: Chuper Whegum3442   2005-09-28 09:40  

#3  Gee, sure shows the Socialist solidarity with organized labor don't it?

One helluva way to break a strike.
Posted by: AlanC   2005-09-28 09:24  

#2  Nice work, French commandos.

But my head is spinning as I reason thru the pirates' justifications for seizing the ship.
Posted by: Seafarious   2005-09-28 08:48  

#1  Who were those masked men?
I dunno, but since they were unarmed, the French kicked ass.
Posted by: tu3031   2005-09-28 08:40  

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