Roger L. Simon: Paris update

Well, I guess...although it's hard to tell what action the great Napoleon admirer has in mind, unless it's to box out his politicla rival Sarkozy. Meanwhile, the grim reality may be starting to set in with the French citizenry. Boy, have they got a problem and it won't be solved just by throwing money at it (hard enough considering their weak economy). I wouldn't want to be a European today.

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"I wouldn't want to be a European today." No. Thanks to Chirac and his ilk there will be no D-Day this time. America will just switch on Fox News and enjoy!

There are people who still seem to think there is no relation between radical Islam and the riots...denial denial denial.

The French appear to be completely clueless on what to do about this rioting; and in denial about their past policies which set up this mess.

It will burn its' self out soon. There's no more kindling. I will not be mentioned in polite circles and it will go down the collective memory hole of the French. There will be commissions and studies and recommendations, new bureuacracies established in response; and in 3 years it will start all over.

Nothing I've seen suggests this is in any way connected to religious demands or motives. IIRC the other night an imam was pelted with stones, mainly because, as a failed authority figure he seemed to merit the same degree of scorn as the politicians who can't provide any economic opportunities.

I could be wrong but if memory serves these are not the heavily muslim areas of Paris; they're populated largely by immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa, not only or mainly by maghredins from North Africa.

Again, the problem is that Europe does not provide its immigrants with economic opportunity. It protects old, established groups and older workers at the expense of entrepreneurs and the young.

: the problem is that Europe does not provide its immigrants with economic opportunity

well i don't know which europe you've been to, but the one i live in is falling over itself trying to stimulate the immigrant's chances of economic participation.

but in any case, you misidentify the problem. the problem isn't that the state doesn't provide this, that or the other, the problem is that people are trashing their cities. they should stop it immediately and find a better way of dealing with life.

You quote: “the problem is that Europe does not provide its immigrants with economic opportunity” as misleading.

It is more then misleading, it is false. If you look at say Hindus vs Pakistanis in the UK you will find that the Hindus have assimilated and the Paksistanis have not. Same goes for every non-muslim immigrant in Europe. Non-Muslims show up poor and assimilate while Muslims seek to maintain their otherness. Islam is the problem not their host societies.

The value to us of these events is the 'canary in the coal mine' effect. With any luck, we can see a preview of what awaits us if we follow certain well-meaning, but misguided, policies of denial, compromise and appeasement. It's like watching a friend being eaten alive by a deadly virus.

And let's be keen to strengthen our own immunity here at home. One day, like it or not, we'll find the Europeans at our doorstep, asking for our help.

a) providing vastly more attractive incentives to not work and remain on the dole for years;

b) protecting older unionized workers at the expense of new hires, thereby guaranteeing a youth unemployment rate of 20-25%+ (the youth unemployment rate in the cites [projects] surrounding Paris is >50%);

c) encouraging dependence on the state for housing and even political participation (cf the muslim parliament, strict regulation of newspapers/media by the state, etc);

d) keeping interest rates artificially high and inhibiting the growth of venture capital and robust competition in the financial sector, thereby limiting immigrant business start-ups' access to capital.

The essence of the problem is that Europe continues to take a corporatist, state-managed approach to absorbing its immigrants. The essential bargain is that groups are bought off through state subsidies in exchange for tight state regulation of individual and group activity: the state gets control over areas of immigrant life, and the immigrant gets access to a juicy state teat.

Our model is laissez-faire in both the economic and the cultural/political realms. The result is that the young immigranys attracted by America are attracted mainly by the chance to make it on their own, while the young immigrants attracted by Europe tend to be resenters who are more interested in expressing grievances than in building anything. The killer of Theo Van Gogh was seeking a stategrant, IIRC, to do "community organizing." His mother testified that he had had plenty of time to plan the killing because he'd been on the dole for years.

Concerning the composition of the suburbs:http://www.breitbart.com/news/2005/11/03/D8DL2HH0B.html

"Rioting youths shot at police and firefighters Thursday after burning car dealerships and public buses and hurling rocks at commuter trains. France's government faced growing pressure to curb the violence, fueled by anger over poor conditions in suburban Paris housing projects.

Rampaging for an eighth day, youths ignored an appeal for calm from French President Jacques Chirac, whose government worked feverishly to fend off a political crisis amid criticism that it has ignored problems in suburbs heavily populated by first- and second-generation North African and Muslim immigrants."

If one wants to know what the problem is with France, one just has to note that Sarkozy is getting attacked not only by the Left but by figures of his own party for calling rioters, arsonists, and people who shoot at police "scum".

If this sort of nonsense keeps up, we're going to see a Le Pen presidency in France in the name of law and order, which won't be good for anybody.

your posts seem to be telling the truth, but only half the truth. if the consequences to immigrants of what you describe at a, b & d are bad, they are bad for everone else too. so why then are the non immigrant unemployed of france not rubbishing paris? i'm not sure what you have in mind at c with "strict regulation of newspapers/media by the state"

but we're really getting away from the immediate point here. suppose everything you said amounted to the whole truth of matters; not all of it put together would justify the trashing of these suburbs.

The problem really is not that Muslims in France don't want to assimilate, the problem is that France makes it easy for Muslims to not assimilate. In America you are expected to make your own way, unless some medical condition prevents that. Even then people expect you to fit in, even if imperfectly. In France not only is it possible to receive assistance even when you don't need it, but people place barriers in the way of your assimilation. Here it is taken as a given that the immigrant shall become an American. In France the immigrant has to bust his ass to become French.

Any culture that feels it necessary to protect its language against alien influence can not be considered mature.

[tangent]As I was typing this comment I heard ABC (US) News blaming the French government for the rioting. Have the rioters no culpability?[/tangent]

France needs to learn, firmness at the beginning can eliminate the need for brutality later.

November 2, 2005: Paris update

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