Paris' Banlieues are Burning: Schadenfreud for the French

(Written 2 weeks earlier than the date of this blog post)

I should be ashamed to take delight in the French's misfortunes, but I'm not.

The French told us that we should appease Muslim extremists, that 'taking them on' is the wrong policy. The French went on to say that they have so much more culture, knowledge, finesse, experience, etc., etc. in managing national issues than we idiotic children so we should follow their advice. They might have partaken a bit of Schadenfreud when our guys were getting killed in Iraq.

So now, their liberal immigration policies, combined with their Chauvinistic culture and Socialist economic practices have blossomed to riots all over their country. I hope the Muslim underclasses of Germany and Great Britain decide to emulate.

You might say what's happening to them and how they deal with it has nothing to do with us. But it DOES affect us because their policies HURT us by:

- radicalizing the Muslim youth, who might graduate to being suicide bombers. Exerpted from The Economist:

The role of Islam in the rioting is more complicated. Some
commentators see signs of a jihad on the streets of Paris. Ivan Rioufol, a columnist for Le Figaro, called it “the beginnings of an intifada”. Yet intelligence sources suggest that this is not organised violence but anarchic rioting, helped by internet and mobile-phone contact. Roughly half of those arrested have been teenagers, most of them in their own suburbs, since they lack the transport to go anywhere else. Even in Evry, where the petrol-bomb store was uncovered, officials say that the teenagers involved were petty criminals, not radicalised fanatics. This was the angry rebellion of a beardless, Nike-wearing teenage underclass.

- consolidating the 'brotherhood of Muslims" worldwide (exerpted from The
Economist)

Officials are particularly concerned by French Muslims now in Iraq, and by recent converts, especially those who found their faith in prison; ...

- weakening their economies
- destablizing their governments

Even assuming that the rioting works itself out, no mainstream politician is likely to emerge unscathed. The far right will surely gain support. But the Socialist Party has been too split to offer any sensible suggestions. And the centre-right government has been left looking impotent, confused and more engrossed by the undeclared contest between Mr de Villepin and Mr Sarkozy ahead of the 2007 presidential election than by the need to formulate social policy.

America might have to expend our lives and treasure to save their asses again.