Rioting in France and it's implecations

Submitted by Ed Gordon (Israel), Nov 8, 2005 at 10:03

French Authorities have every reason to be bewildered by the sudden and widespread onslaught that has been occuring literally all over the French Republique during the past twelve days. With over six million Muslims already living in France, mostly in the larger cities like Paris, Marseilles, Nice, etc., this group of people has long been a simmering cauldren in a country that has had a double-edged policy towards them since the end of France's colonial period in North and Central Africa.

While maintaining a very liberal immigration policy for them, the French government has enacted policies such as towards education in public schools and in it's universities; policies which were not accepted by many Muslims, especially fundamental ones. The efforts to absorb Muslims into French secular society has also not been very effective as many Muslims have preferred to live in their own separate communities, with their own social, cultural, and educational institutions. In many of these enclaves, Arabic is the 'official' language, and many immigrants know little, if any, French.

France's efforts to separate itself from the U.S. and England's was against terror, including events in Iraq, has not apparently helped either, as these events now indicate. By trying to placate Muslim and other immigrant groups (obviously, other groups such as Africans from non-Muslim countries may also be involved) the French government will only find itself in a more trying situation later on.

What must now be done, in my opinion, is for the French government to restore law and order as quickly as possible. If the government can send its famed Foreign Legion units to various African hot spots, it can use them, if necessary, on it's home territory as well. Fortunately, no large death toll has yet occured, but that could very happen in "Stage Two".

Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity is one thing, but complete anarchy is something else.

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