France is Burning
Riots in France have been ongoing for almost two weeks now. There seems to be a bit of a disagreement over the cause of the widespread destruction and anger. The mainstream media is downplaying the fact that the rioters are predominantly Muslim, and are emphasizing “youth” and “poverty” as factors. Many on the Right are focusing exclusively on the fact that the rioters are Muslim.
My take? All of the above.
You cannot discount that Islamist groups have been targeting France, and have been inciting violence, but that does not mean that all of the rioting is instigated by religious hatred. A lot of the violence seems to be related to class warfare and racism. That is, the second generation immigrants in the French ghettos feel like second class citizens, and are acting out. Although there has been some violence against the police and against French citizens, the majority of the mayhem has been directed at cars, buildings, and transportation. A subway was bombed, a train hijacked, and thousands upon thousands of cars have been torched.
France’s response has been to establish curfews, and to increase police presence. Chirac has refused to involve the French Army. That might be a good thing… when the subjugated masses in the Ivory Coast peacefully gathered, the French Army had no problem rolling in and firing indiscriminately into the crowd, murdering men, women and children. Having the same thing happen on French soil would be catastrophic to the country. Still, the curfews are not working, and the violence is showing no signs of slowing. What do they do? I really don’t have an answer.
