Things have Gone from Bad to Worse in France, But Why?

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Rioting and mob violence has spread from the suburbs of Paris to within the city limits and along the Mediterranean coast. An eldery woman was doused with gasoline and set on fire. A nursey was burned down. A synagogue was attacked. Hundreds of cars are being burned every night. Motorcycle riding arsonists are dashing from site to site burning buildings.

I keep hearing that these are immigrant populations who are rioting because of high unemploment and a lack of economic opportunities. But these are immigrant groups from third-world countries were the poverty is much worse and the oppression pervasive. Yet we seldom if ever hear of this kind of rioting in Algeria or other Muslim nations. So I am skeptical that this this is simply the result of a lack of economic opportunity. Especially when some of the rioters are referring to their largely Muslim neigborhoods as "occupited territories."

Unfortunately, the U.S. press is not giving this much or in-depth coverage.

Comments

Weekend Fisher said…
Hi Chris

I was wondering some of the same things and I went and read some of the French-language online news tonight. Posted a little of it over on my blog. There's a real allergy in the French press (even worse than over here) to associate what's happening with Islam or Muslims in any way. The fellow who's willing to call a spade a spade and said the rioters were "riffraff" and may be following an organized plan -- that was offensive and some have called for his resignation and are calling him "dangerous" for saying such things. It is conciliation gone haywire. The more of the French news I read, the more I couldn't believe what was reading.
11/05/2005 07:43:00 PM
Steven Carr said…
There is an interesting article onn the subject at


http://tinyurl.com/75f68
11/06/2005 01:58:00 AM
Weekend Fisher said…
Oh he brings up the good old myth of the tolerance of Andalusia under Muslim occupation. I'm going to guess he's never read even excerpts from Ibn al-Athir's Annals of the conquest of Spain ... or Ibn Abdun's rulings (from Seville) on how to treat Jews and Christians ... or the records of al-Mansur's comments on the treatment of people who had outwardly converted to Islam to avoid persecution but some suspected their sincerity ...

Just remember, the history we read is whitewashed at least as blatantly as the news. Especially when it comes to the "Religion of Peace".
11/06/2005 05:36:00 AM
Layman said…
Yahoo has a section of articles on the goings on in France:

http://news.yahoo.com/fc/World/France;_ylt=At5K7bm8jHzj2548eShw1dJ0bBAF;_ylu=X3oDMTA2ZGZwam4yBHNlYwNmYw--
11/06/2005 07:52:00 AM
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